Madagascar 4: Circus Showdown!
by Furattii
Summary: When the Zoo gang and their beloved Circus friends are invited to participate in the annual "Circus Showdown!", they believe it will be everything they had ever dreamed of doing! But what happens when the Leading Act of their biggest rivals is kidnapped and THEY are framed for being the Conspirators? It's all adventures and detective work now! Many Pairings! NEW AND IMPROVED!
1. Months Later

**So this is the new AND IMPROVED story of the old 5-Chapter story of "Circus Showdown" I really hope you guys like this better than the old one! And every time I finish the stories I will most likely just put it here without proofreading it. Bad idea, but I realize the best way I find mistakes in what I write is after I publish something. So sometimes you may not recognize some scenes, sentence structures or grammar, that it just me, proofreading and putting it back up here to be "readable"**

**_Disclaimer:_**** Madagascar DOES NOT belong to me. Madagascar and all of it's canon characters belongs to Dreamworks and I am not using this story to create a profit. Please support the official release.**

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**Chapter I - Months Later**

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Vitaly stood alone in his car, throwing his knife at the presumed target in complete boredom. Once more, with a mighty swipe, he had hit the red target in the middle. Smiling, he reached to his side for another blade, only to feel the rough and patched flooring of the wood-made car. He had used them all up. He looked back at the target once again and found that, while most of his blades and javelins had found their target, others were merely hanging at the outer part of the middle circle. He laughed a bit. Wanting to get the knives back before they completely took his wall down, the red tiger had gotten up and proceeded to put the weapons back into their place in their cupboards. The train roared loudly and made his ears twitch irritably. There it was again. Than blasted horn.

He could barely go to sleep or take a decent nap without those black and white birds roaring that horn. His fur would stiffen, puff out, and he would growl, finding the noise quite uncomfortable. He would then have to find something to do for the next hour or so, or until the Penguins had stopped the train in the middle of nowhere for a pit stop. For a while, it was fine, he ate and exercised for a bit in his car or whenever they had said pit stops, but it began to be a hassle after a while. He lost sleep, and losing sleep meant he was rather, err, clumsy and in a foul mood. The others became worried and made hourly check-ups on him, especially Stefano. They believed that he had caught something nasty, and dangerous and insisted for him to be more careful but he was merely losing sleep. No biggie.

Yet he could not complain, he was the star of the act, or rather the star of the beginning act. But really, what other tigers could possible manage to 'fly' through the physically small hoops in one mighty jump? Not to mention that the small ring had been on fire. He remembered each act he did, how the crowd would cheer for him and demand encores but he had to keep the jumping at a minimum, the humans had more to see after all. With Alex and Gia doing the trapeze _'Amerciano'_ style, along with Stefano and Marty blowing themselves in the air, Melman and Gloria dancing on the tightrope, and the other animals doing what they have been doing since they formed their new Circus. _Entertain_.

The old tiger chuckled to himself. He still remembered the day he met the four members of the Zoo gang. He had been a bit hostile towards them, especially Alex, but one had to take precautions. It seemed all too suspicious to him about their quick claims as Circus animals, but they had been just what the Circus needed, right before he truly forgot why he loved being in the Circus. _Passion, adventure, danger- _The thrill of it all. It was hard to believe their small circus had been getting so popular in Europe. They had been to Venice, Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Warsaw, once in St. Petersburg, Rome _(Once more after their first incident with the Zoo gang)_ and London a few times since their big American tour had finished. They found themselves growing to be the best Circus in all of Europe, and- maybe- the world.

The others continuously practiced their acts, made new ones, yet never failing to make the humans smile, laugh, or stare in awe. Of course, his act needn't be practiced, he smiled to himself. His act, for others, was completely impossible to do, but not for him. Vitaly did the impossible! The train had started to slow down, which made the Tiger smile in relief. Thank mother Russia that the train would stop, that meant he had time to get a good nap before the train roared again. And to think, by now, he would have gotten used to it.

He had opened the door to his car too eagerly, which made his whole living space shake a bit, but he did not care at the moment. He took in the fresh air, cool wind, and sunny light. No more sitting ducks in a dark car, with heavy air and the heat. He felt rejuvenated, free.

Then, out of the corner of his emerald eyes, he saw a small and energetic Sea Lion coming towards him: Stefano. He was running, or rather flopping, towards him in a hurried pace. "_Glorioso giorno_!" The Sea Lion greeted as he flopped next to his friend. Vitaly smiled.

"'Ello Stefano, eet is good to finally stretch, no?" the Tiger asked. Stefano smiled.

"Oh yes-a! These old-a bones needs-a streching! Oh! Look-a! There's Alice and Gia!" he smiled, clapping his fins excitedly. Vitaly's eyes focused on the brown Lion and the gold Jaguar walking beside each other, looking quite flushed and nervous. Vitaly huffed and crossed his arms. Stefano ignored the rough treatment of the Circus' newest to-be couple, and merely sighed.

"Isn't it-a wonderful, 'Taly? Our little Gia falling for Alice-a?" Vitaly merely frowned.

"He need to do a lot more than to prove he is vorthy of Gia" he replied blankly. Stefano gasped.

"I need-a to share-a idea with-a Marty! I best be going-a!" the Sea Lion yelled and ran off to a familiar striped figure. Vitaly merely chuckled, gave the feline couple one last disapproving look, before taking in the freshness of nature. The Alps were such a glorious place to stop and unwind, but to him, it was nothing but one of the most life changing places in Europe. Heck, the most life changing place in his life. He observed the whole scenery of animals preparing for their newer and more defined acts.

With Gia busy flirting and practicing with Alex, he felt as if he became farther away from her. They never talked as they used to, or even share meals. Now it was Alex and Gia who shared their meals, who talked alone in private. The same was with Stefano, he spent most of his time with Marty, or trying to create new stunts in the air, along with being his optimistic self whenever something went wrong with the others. The Sea lion was always there to make someone smile, to inspire and cheer everyone up. Though sometimes, like a few minutes ago, he did come to greet him and spend time with him before he waddled off again. Vitaly sighed. He had never felt so- _alone_. He thought now, that the whole Circus was coming together, he could finally be at peace but there was something missing. He felt so isolated from the rest but why? He remembered the old times as a cub, where the other animals would cheer him on, greet him with an adoring smile everyday, patting his back whenever he succeeded, becoming quite a dish for a certain pretty Tigress.

Vitaly shook his head quickly. No. Natalia chose to run away with a stupid musician over _him_, he should not be missing that traitor. He fumed slightly. However horrible the situation was when she left, and however miserable she had made him feel, he missed the attention she gave him, the love, the petting, everything about her was magical. He could not believe she was gone... and knowing that fact that she never truly loved him.

"Yo buddy, you okay?" a voice asked. Vitaly's fur puffed suddenly, the shock of someone surprising him running quickly through his body, and he turned to see Alex waving his paw in front of him in a friendly manner. "Sorry. I Just saw you all grumpy and I thought, well, y'know, you wanted to talk" Vitaly knew Alex still had some fear of him left over, and after all these months, it was practically nonsense now. Either that, or Gia had spotted him in his days and talked Alex into talking to him. Or both. Vitaly merely shook his head.

"No, I vas just... thinking" he told the lion. Alex nodded, looking particularly relieved.

"Oh. So... Nothing to talk about?"

"_Nyet_" he responded firmly. Alex smiled instead.

"Well, if you need anything, you know where to find me!" and with that note he left off to Gia's side once more. Vitaly tried hard not to growl. A loud and obnoxious horn sounded, interrupting his train of thought. He turned his head to see who had made such a sound, and, as expected, it was the flightless birds. _"The Penguins"_, the Zoo gang had called them.

"Alright, ya gooey circus animals. I've got good news and bad news- who wants to hear the bad news?" Skipper asked through a large megaphone titled _"#1"_. When no one responded he scoffed in apparent annoyance, "_Wusses_. Alright the good news is we've been officially invited to participate in the World known American/European Battle of the Circuses, _'Circus Showdown!'_!"

The lot of animals stared at the leader, Skipper, speechless and open mouthed. He raised an non-existent eyebrow. "Well? Aren't you gonna cheer?" It was then when the animals had broken into a symphony of high-pitched squeals and celebrating cheers and roars. The Penguins joined the cheering, giving high fives to each other, ending with Skipper slapping the smallest of their gang, Private, to which the smaller penguin had having his eyes rolling at the sudden movement. The cheering became so intense even Vitaly could not help but cheer on his Circus mates. America. _America_. They were going there once again to participate in this _"Circus Showdown!"_! That meant the whole world to everyone here, even Vitaly, and they knew they had to do everything to impress the humans and fellow Circus Animals.

It was like a dream come true. Not only was their Circus career launched with a booming comeback, but they were only one contest away from being the best Circus in the _world_. There was no telling how awesome this experience would be. With a mighty call from the megaphone, Skipper added, "The bad news is we've only got a few hours so we can make it to London and depart on our special boat and if ya want to go to America, we've got to leave at exactly _RIGHT NOW_!"

And then all heck broke lose as quick as the announcement came. Animals swarmed everywhere, left and right, to pick up the equipment they laid out that was used to practice. Vitaly grunted, hated being rushed, and ran inside his car. He didn't take anything out, so naturally he came back in. The others didn't need help putting things back in, they barely _got _there. Other animals ran around with their equipment, throwing them inside their crates and helping out the others that brought out too much and needed help. Soon everyone, and everything, was onboard and the train roared back to life once more and started moving, slower then faster and faster. He examined himself in his mirror and flexed. What? Can't a tiger see what shape he was on?

Vitaly looked out the small window again. He remembered America. The moon was the same as in Europe. It was the same anywhere, he guessed, but he couldn't help but wonder about how big of a world there was other than their small circus. He wondered if there were any more Circuses that were invited that were as good as theirs, or better. He wondered if any Tigers had his uncanny ability. Or if there were any _tigresses_ who did... Vitaly shook his head once more. _Nyet_! No more thinking about healing his past and all, it was time to give it his _'A game'_! For his family.

"America" he said, confidently holding a small hoop in his paw, "Here ve come"

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**You loved it and you KNOW IT! :D *SHOT* Anyways, the first Chapter is the same as in the first version, so you may see little change since I proofread it once. I just reread it, changed some sentence structures that I though did NOT make sense and such. Still hope you DIG IT! :D**


	2. Love In the Air

**EDIT: Fixed grammar and weird sentences**

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**Chapter II - Love In the Air**

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Gia had been nervous throughout the whole trip from the mountainous region to their destination at the French Port, where the Circus crew did their best to get all of their Circusey needs into the huge boat that was responsible for their safe voyage to America. The Penguins and the monkeys, thanks to their master disguise as the Prince of Versailles, as well as their whole lot of money earned from all those shows, bought the boat themselves and fired the humans, claiming that they had navigated a boat once, though Gia wasn't interested in finding out if that story was true or not. The Zoosters didn't seem fazed out by it so Gia was trusting them.

But the pretty Jaguar wasn't nervous about the boat ride, or if they had forgotten anyone, or how in the world they would last a few days on sea without anyone tipping over, no, she was nervous about the competition. She hadn't been one in a few good years since Vitay's accident and loss of passion, that was true, and that was during her adolescent years. She had become nervous for her family, more specifically everyone in the Circus. Her previous acts that had helped them win became rusty, and she did not believe that their time being off the spot light really affected them. Besides, they've only been in the European version of the competition, and those weren't too big as she had heard. They had never been invited to an American competition. Was Circo Zarazoga even ready for this next big step back to stardom? Her heart gave her the loudest _YES!_ she had ever received but her mind, a big party pooper it was, thought otherwise. It kept telling her it was simply not to be. Oh, which to believe? What if they were really not ready for this?

Now Alex, the presumed retired "King" of New York City, had been walking along the edge of the ship's lower deck, making sure that everyone was having a good time and, hopefully, not overboard and drowning. That would be a very terrible situation to be in, he hated the water but if it was necessary, well, he must put up with it in order to make sure his pals were safe. But the situation he sound found himself in was almost as big of a mishap, well, for a certain someone. As he climbed the ladder, leading to the Upper deck, he caught a glimpse of the lone Jaguar girl, looking out into the setting sun that had barely begun to touch the water. She looked troubled, and unhappy. Alex now saw it his mission to figure out what was bothering the only female he had grown so fond of so quickly.

He straightened his posture, and moved in an overly swaggerly manner towards her, and slid next to her, smiling the most charming smile he could come up with. "Yo" he greeted her, catching the Jaguar's attention.

"Oh. Hello, Alex" she greeted before looking back at the sun. Alex could not help but gape at Gia; she looked very pretty in the sunlight, illuminating her eyes and figure quite nicely. He shook his head, reminding himself of his mission.

"Hey what's wrong. You look pretty down. That's not the Gia we know and love" the Jaguar smiled faintly before finally sighing, almost as if she were in despair.

"Alex, I-I am worried. Do you believe we are good enough for competition? Are we really ready for this big step?" Alex stared at her blankly.

"Of course I do! Vitaly with his impossible hoop jump, Marty and Stefano on the cannons, Gloria and Melman on the Tightrope, the dogs with the rocket-powered skates, Julien and Sonya on her super cool motorcycle, plus you and me on the Trapeze- we will totally _blow_ them away! The humans will love it!" he exclaimed. "I mean look at us, we're so happy because the reasons we're even going is because we're one of the best! Don't you think we'll knock the pants outta our competition?" Gia slunched guiltily.

"I know they can Alex, it's just, my head-"

"Nevermind what your heads telling you! What does your soul say?"

"Uhm, my soul?"

"Uhm, yeah, same thing as a heart, whatever you guys call a heart!" Gia smiled slightly.

"My heart says we can but-"

"Then there's your answer! I mean, who cares what others tell you unless you know what you believe. Our Circus is the best- I mean look at us!" he extended his arm over to the lower deck to emphasize his point. As Gia looked down, she saw where all of her friends laughed and went to the edge of the boat to get a better look at the dolphins who greeted them happily. Then she saw the Penguins, who seemed to be looking at one of their comrades sobbing, calling out "DORIS!". She looked back at Alex who smiled at her.

"Circus stick together. And together we can totally outshine anyone! If your heart believes in them, well, obviously, so should you!" Gia looked over the deck again before smiling widely. She immediately hugged Alex, which made his cheeks redden with untold glee.

"Thank you, Alex. I needed these words. I will not doubt our Circus again!" Alex nodded and watched as Gia sighed happily, content with his answer and looked back at the sunset. It looked to be halfway underwater now. Okay, okay. Breathe, Alex. It's just Gia. Yeah. Just- he looked at her again. He watched as the water reflected off the sun's form, watching it shimmer with tiny sparkles, and how it also reflected Gia's visage, he saw that she looked happy in that spot. As the sun set in deeper, Alex watched as the sky turned a bright orange color and how the dolphins came up to the surface every now and then. He looked back at Gia, and, with his eyes, trailed down her arm to see that one hand was not hanging onto the bar. It was now or never, he thought.

"Wow!" he exclaimed, a bit of a high jump in his voice. "Will ya look at that sunset! It's beautiful, right Gia?" the female feline laughed at him and smiled.

"Yes, it is really _bello_" she commented. Alex hesitated for the next step, until he looked at her again. He took her hand in his.

Gia jumped slightly at the sudden touch between paws but found that she enjoyed his warm hands with hers. Alex then scratched his head nervously. Gia raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" she asked. Alex merely laughed nervously.

"Nothing. Well, okay, yeah, it's something, but-" he peeked at her expression. The sunlight reflected off her gold orbs. "You're beautiful. You know that?" Gia blushed, feeling quite embarrassed. She really, really liked Alex, but she wasn't sure if he was the right one. Well, there was one way of finding out, but... After a while she laughed.

"Well, you don't look so bad yourself, lion guy" she teased, making Alex blush darken a bit. He pulled her close, Gia did not mind at all. He took her cheek in his paw and turned her head to face him, almost romantically slow. Gia's eyes twinkled. He pulled her closer, their muzzles almost touching each other, seperated by a fraction of space. She closed her eyes as he did, just a bit further and-

"Come on-a Marty! I see some-a dolphins over-a here! Vitaly! You must-a come-a see them!" they heard a certain Sea Lion yell. Gia and Alex quickly pulled away from each other, stopping their intimate moment and blushing in response. They turned to face the sun straight ahead, their postures almost suspiciously straight and no contanct between their bodies at all. Soon the excited Sea Lion waddled past them to look over the edge, joined by Marty behind, and Vitaly not too far away. Marty spotted the pair and smirked at Alex before going off to join Stefano's side.

"Wow! Look at those babies go!" he exclaimed as he saw a few jump at once. Vitaly finally came aboard, spotted the two and rasied a brow at their curiosuly strict positions next to each other. After while of studying them, his face turned from one of curiousity to suspicion. Alex smiled sheepishly, which unknowingly confirmed Vitaly's theory and made the tiger glare at Alex in response. He kept walking, still glaring but kept silent about the whole situation. The tiger walked over to Stefano's side, his arms crossed, and looked over the side where he could see the dolphins from a better view. A smile formed on his lips momentarily as he saw them, then back to it's usual stoic self.

Alex grinned sheepishly at Gia, to which she repsonded by giggling silently. "I'm sorry" he said. Gia looked at him curiously.

"What are you sorry for, Alex?"

"I dunno. The moment just felt right and I went ahead but as soon as I heard stefano yell _'Vitaly'_ I-" Gia burst out laughing, catching the attention of the tiger who snarled at Alex before looking back down the edge. Gia wiped a small tear from her eye before punching his arm playfully. Alex faked a laugh before rubbing his, now, sore arm.

"Alex, it is alright. No need to apologize, I understand. Besides, the moment was magical, even without the kiss" she explained to him. Alex was about to reply in gratitude by not thinking lowly of him before the Penguins showed up, standing in their usual military positions and with Kowalski rubbing a tissue on his eyelids. Skipper slid straight towards him.

"Evening, my physchotic lion, I merely came to inform you that we are about to land in New York in say-" he looked at Kowalski who held his clipboard up, embeddende with numbers and equations. "Three to four hours"

"THIRTY FOUR HOURS!?" Alex exclaimed in disbelief which caught the attention of the other three. Skipper sighed and rolled his eyes.

"No three _TO_ four hours!" he turned to leave before adding, "I thought we settled this in Africa!" and left with his comrades in hot pursuit. Alex looked at Gia, blushing terrible, and the Jaguar responded by laughing.

**0O0**

"Come, my dear! We must see this romantic Sunset and hope that we get in the mood!" Julien exclaimed to his beloved girlfriend, Sonya the bear, guiding her with her motorcycle to the edge of the boat. Julien looked at the sunset admiringly while sonya merely grunted and yawned.

"I know, my dear" he said sighing. "It is a very beautiful sight! Almost as beautiful as you are!" Sonya grunted and Julien smiled, patting the bear's pink bow on her head. "Yes, yes, I know you want to ride but you must see this sunset! I mean, look at it! It has nothing in comparison to your beauty! You are more lovely than the Lemur goddess of love, and THAT is very beautiful!" he commented. Sonya grunted again and roared and Julien gasped.

He slid down her head to face her. "I did not mean it that way, you jealous thing, you" he said, kissing her nose. "It's just-" he hugged her face, "You are the most gorgeous creature my eyes have ever seen! I can't merely say it with mere words- OH! I shall sing a song about your beauty!" Julien jumped off her head to the bar in front of the bear. Sonya grunted curiously. Julien cleared his throat and opened his mouth-

_So beautiful!  
I've got a reason to dance along!  
Rise up like the sun in the morning!  
Come on, come on!_

_There's something about you,_  
_It's driving me crazy_  
_These feelings are so true,_  
_I need you, I LOVE you!_

Sadly, King Julien could not continue his song before Sonya grunted and unwittingly sped away on her motorcycle. Julien gasped. "Don't cry my love! All I said was true! Don't cryyyyyyyy!" and Julien jumped off the bar and ran towards the bear in the motorcycle, who was mostly likely causing havoc on the ship's interior as he ran.

**0O0**

**If you all are wondering if this song is ACTUALLY a song- YES it is! And I give credit to _Gabriel Davi_ for creating it- It's such a beautiful song! Listen to it on youtube! It fits with Juliens voice XD**

**Yes this is the NEW and IMPROVED Chapter 2! I am STILL using your OCs, I'm not gonna be a jerky jerk jerk and back out on what I promised! Hope you guys enojy this Chapter much more than the first! See the difference with my writing between planned and not planned? I hope so! X3**


	3. Memories

**Chapter III. - Past Memories**

It became a disturbing sight to him somewhat. It had been even more disturbing to watch it. First it was the Penguin that started to sob over an ex-girlfriend named "Doris", then he saw Alex and Gia together and looking to be beyond suspicious, now it seemed as if everyone was falling in love now. He hated spring. Vitaly snorted and watched Marty and Stefano excite themselves over the Dolphins they saw overboard. It looked as if the three were the only bachelors left in the Circus. Stupid spring. He strayed from the two and went to a more desolated side of the ship: The back. Everyone was at the front, watching the sea mammals as they jumped and cheered everytime they did a spin in the air.

It started to give him a headache but not the one he would normally have, no, this headache was different. This headache brought back images he wanted to remember and forget at the same time. His depression really had sunken deeper than the Borscht ever did. He looked over to the sun as it started to set, the little bits of light dimming and the sky turning a dark blue. He remembered how he watched the sun set once as a cub, it was also a life changing moment for him.

0O0

_He was a little cub. He loved to play and roll around on the dirt, and pounce on anything that moved in his wake. His trainers thought he was simply adorable and Vitaly had to admit he liked the attention they gave him. As he played with one of the humans with his toys, another of their kind appeared and whispering into his circus mate's ears. The human smiled and winked at Vitaly who just stared at him curiously while tugging on his rope, signaling the human to play with him._

_"Now, now Vitaly. Don't get so excited, but I can't play with you right now. We are going to have a new addition to the Circus and I think you'll like her very much" Vitaly did not understand the meaning behind the human's words, but he was only a cub. He could hardly understand anything they said sometimes. He put his attention back to his old rope and tugged on it, his teeth ripping into and gnawing at it._

_He was so focused on tearing apart that useless rope that he didn't notice the same human playing with him returning with a small crate. It wasn't until he heard a unexpected "mew" did he turn to find himself staring at one of his one kind. She was a tiny thing, shaking and cowering under him in a violent manner. Vitaly looked at his trainer and mewed. Was this a new playmate? The human petted the small tigress, earning a delighted and soft purr, to which Vitaly replied with a growl. No one was allow to touch his human but him!_

_The trainer laughed and patted Vitaly on his head. "Now, Vitaly, be nice! This is your new friend! her name is Irina, a beauty ain't she? She's gonna be your playmate from now on!" the human's eyes sparkled but Vitaly ignored the him and sniffed the small tigress in his arms. Her tail limped from her side as she watched Vitaly wearily as he tried to circle around her and sniffed at her. Sometimes he would even try to nip until he was flicked on his nose by the human carrying her. She mewed again. The human checked his watch and set the tigress down._

_"I gotta go, squirt. Don't harm her, we can't afford another Tiger for you to play with, so be nice!" the circus man laughed and walked out of his play pen. Vitaly looked back at the small cub. She looked so weak and scared... and weak. She couldn't possible play with him the way he would normally hope for a tiger to be._

_"Can you play rope?" he asked her. The tigress mewed shyly. Vitaly shook his head. "No. Rope. See" he said, picking up the worn out string in his mouth. "Ropff" he mumbled. The girl mewed again, sniffing the rope. "Don't you ever stop mewing?" he asked. The girl mewed again. Vitaly eyed her then realized why she was still so small and mewed instead of talked._

_"Oh, I get eet. You are still baby. No matter, you learn to play" he said, wagging his tail and jumping and pouncing near her. The tigress mewed alarmingly but once she saw Vitaly meant no harm to her, started to jump, but couldn't land on her paws like he did. Vitaly smiled. "Don't vorry. You learn, like I did! I can jump like this, vatch!" he exclaimed, doing a back flip and a few cartwheels landing in front of the baby cub. The cub mewed happily and stood up on her backfeet and jumped. Vitaly gasped and fell under her to break her fall._

_The tigress landed on his back with her paws and pushed her chest out proudly before snuggling atop him. "No! Get off! I vant to play! PLAY! Not sleep!" he exclaimed. The girl merely mewed in response and started to breathe quietly but heavily. Vitaly sighed and stood still in his position until he was sure she had fallen deep asleep. If she did this all the time, she would be no fun. Alas, once she couldn't be woken up, Vitaly couldn't get her off, for he had fallen asleep as well._

_**Many Months Later**_

_"Come on, Vitaly! I want to meet the newcomers! Maybe there are more cubs to play with!" Irina exclaimed excitedly, running towards the whole Circus area where the animals stationed themselves to get a better look at the new animals the Circus Ringmaster had purchased. Vitaly ran by her side and laughed._

_"Don't get hopes up. Might be adults. Ve could be only cubs here!"_

_"You are mean, Vitaly!" Irina pouted, trying to squeeze her way through the gap the animals made. Vitaly squeezed in beside her. They plopped up next to Stefano the Sea Pup, who jumped excitedly._

_"Glorioso Giorno, Vitaly! Irina!" he greeted. Irina waved at him and Vitaly nodded his head._

_"Khorosho yev, Stefano. It is good to see you up" The pup clapped his flippers excitedly, waiting for the new animals to come out of their cages. The ringmaster came up and introduced his newest purchase, a jaguar he had named Gia. The cub came out of her crate, mewing loudly and happily trotted onto the ring where she tried to jump but ended up tripping. The humans started to laugh, finding it adorable, but the cub simply sniffed sadly. Vitaly leaned forward to whisper to the cub._

_"Don't vorry. You walk soon. Irina could not either first day" he beckoned foward the tigress who smiled at the Jaguar cub._

_"OOh! She is so cute! Can we keep her Vitaly?" the Jaguar cub mewed happily and tried to climb up the stand seperating her and her new friends. The ring master came foward and patted Irina and Vitaly and carried the cub off._

_"She is nice" Vitaly commented. Irina nodded her head in agreement. Another animal was realesed from it's cage, but, this time, Vitaly noticed that alot more humans surrounded this cage than the cub's was. He knew immediately that it was an adult. A lion came out, a mane barely growing out, and he roared at them. The Ringamster held his hand up and the humans obeyed him. The lion paced back and forth and spotted the other animals. He sneered at them and eyed Vitaly. Vitaly snarled and Irina looked at him curiously._

_"He is rogue. Not mess with him. He is big trouble" he merely said. Irina eyed the lion and, instead of taking note of his viciousness, saw in him beauty that many others could not see. Because she never had been exposed to the previous lion Vitaly knew, they were all the same._

_**A Few Months Later**_

_Vitaly had been told by his trainers that he must learn to jump the hoop. Vitaly had dreamed of this moment ever since he saw the elder tiger, Alexei, did his marvelous hoop jump with ten rings, each other getting smaller and smaller. Vitaly hopped onto the stand he was stantioned to be in. Once the whip was slammed onto the metal, he sprung foward. Sadly, his first attempt was not successful and he ended up crashing into the ring. He felt down with a squeal and took off into another stand and slumped. Irina watched him and comforted him through the bars._

_The lion on the other side witnessed it as well and merely laughed. "Not so tough are ya, kitty litter?" Vitaly gritted his teeth._

_"Shutup, rogue. You can't even jump through hoop on first try" the lion chided._

_"You can't either. So why don't you shut it when you know you've been beaten" Irina snarled and roared at the lion. The Ringmaster turned to face her and saw that she was glaring at the lion. He turned to one of his workers._

_"Get Adui out of here. I shall not have him distracting my tigers" the human nodded and called a few of his comrades. Soon the lion was gone and Vitaly could focus. He suddenly smirked. Adui? What a stupid name. The ringmaster whipped the metal again and this time Vitaly managed to make it through. Irina cheered for him and the Ringmaster shook his head proudly. "I knew you could do it Vitaly"._

_Soon, it was Irina's turn and she took longer than expected but she managed to also get through the ring after a few failed attempts. Vitaly walked next to Irina after their ringamster had put them in their car._

_"That vas awesome!" Vitaly exclaimed, getting one of his knives. "I've never felt so- energized!" and he threw the knife on the wall expertly. Irina yawned and licked her fur._

_"Yes it was, but doing a few hoops at a time seems boring to me" Vitaly stared at her curiously._

_"Vat do you mean?" Irina smiled sheepishly._

_"Oh no, I don't mean to offend you Vitaly, you did great but I bet many tigers jump through hoops all the time in a circus. What, do humans think that they won't get bored of watching the same thing other tigers do again and again? Boring!" she exclaimed. Vitaly thought about this for the rest of the day. She was right. He loved his Circus so very much, he wanted them to become better, to become more creative with their acts and still be traditional. As he walked towards the ring area, he was stopped by a low laugh._

_"Oh, not bad on your act, Kitty litter. Now all you need is a stubid bow tie and you're set! Oh! Wait! You're not a clown!" the lion laughed and Vitaly snarled. The lion gasped, faking a concerned look. "Did I anger the tigress?" Vitaly bared his teeth. "Get lost kid. You're still barely an teen, and I am MUCH bigger and stronger than you. Think about it for a sec" Vitaly did and the lion was right. As much as he hated to admit it. The lion smirked then threw himself on the cage, alerting Vitaly who jumped back. He accidentally knocked something over from the shelf he had stumbled upon and soon found himself covered in a slippery substance. The lion laughed and Vitaly ran off._

_That was so embarrassing! He didn't know what the heck was on him, and in front of that stupid lion! He removed the can from his head, it read 'Olive Oil'. He scowled and dropped the can on the ground and looked at himself through the many Circus mirrors and gaped. He was covered with the stuff, his fur looked shiny and wet, yes, but he didn't like it. He huffed and walked over to the rings. The Ringmaster could punish him if he walked in like that but he needed a bath now. Luckily, no one was there at the ring and Vitaly got into his position on the metal stand. There were very tiny rings, must've been for the small dogs, but he was too big to go through. Might as well practive to jump over it._

_The stand was very uncomfortable though, and he sighed. He could possible jump over that tiny ring and do it nicely without the small stand. He then remembered how Irina commented about humans seeing the same thing again and again. Maybe... maybe he could change it. He didn't care if he was slimy and stuff, he was going to try. He pushed the metal stand out of his way and the ring even further. He eyed it, then ran fowards, top speed. He did a few back flips, cartwheels and front flips before finally jumping and doing the famous axle-spinning that was taught to him by the elder tiger. He narrowed his eyes, and realized too late that he was going straight towards the ring, not over it, and it was too late for him to stop. He closed his eyes to brace for impact but he never did._

_He felt the earth under him and he nervously opened one eye. He was out, whole, his body wasn't on the ground. He turned to see the impossibly small ring that was much too small for his size to go through, rattle back and forth. Did he really just get through that?_

0O0

Vitaly shook himself from the past memories. He remembered how he had been watched by his ringmaster the whole time and had been amazed at his daring move and told him happily that, on their next show, he would be the opening act. Vitaly had been both frightened and happy about this news. He ran straight to his car where he found Irina cleaning her spot where she slept. She had questioned about his appearance but he told her the good news. His life changed drastically from there. He was the star of the show, little Gia grew out of her baby stages and started to learn out to sit and roll over by her trainers. Even he helped now and then. He could not believe how far the Circus had gotten since then.

So much had changed between then and now. He couldn't bear to remember all of it. Wanting to get rid of the spot he had remembered so much, he started walking towards the head of the ship. As he neared he saw one thing standing out: Land.

0O0

Melman didn't know how or why he had gotten himself into such a predicament. Sure, Gloria enjoyed it, but he was so clumsy, he couldn't take it if he let her fall. Gloria was on the bars, spreading her hands out and Melman was hanging onto to her to make sure she didn't fall. Yes, it was a cheesy remake of the scene from one of Gloria's favorite romance movies, The Titanic, but it didn't help that she was giggling so much and moving around. Melman didn't want to offend his girlfriend but she was too heavy for him to hang onto forever. Gloria thought otherwise and he knew that she depended too much on his love for her to let her fall.

"Isn't this great Melman?" she exclaimed, giggling. Melman laughed nervously and nodded.

"Oh yes! This is very- UHA! I mean- VERY fun!" he said, trying to get a tighter grip on his lady. Gloria ignored his earlier cry and lifted herself up a little to feel the wind.

"Oh, I would like to stay on here forever!" she said happily, waving her arms. Melman gulped silently and wished she only meant that forever as a small one. A VERY small one. He faked a joyous laugh.

"Oh me too! I would-" suddenly a wave crashed into the ship which caused it to lurch back, causing Gloria to fall back on her boyfriend. "GYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Melman yelled as he felt himself being crushed by his girlfriend.

"Melman!" Gloria exclaimed, getting off of her boyfriend as quick as she could and helping his stand. Melman waddled a bit before standing completely still. Melman stared guiltily at gloria.

"I'm sorry, honey. I didn't mean to fall back and take you with me" Gloria giggled and kissed his cheek.

"I don't worry, sweetie. We can just try again when we come back from the competition" Melman laughed and gulped.

"Yeah" he said nervously.

**0O0**

***MeGustaFace* This is TOTALLY working out better than the other version. Yes. I likey this better. And yes, I introduced how Vitaly came to meet Irina, Gia, and how he found out his calling in his act. I think this is WAY better! Remember R&R. And before someone comes to me telling me to put their OCs in my story I WON'T! NO humans, no extra animals- NADA! Only the first 10 who had responded may. And even if you beg I cannot, I can barely find good uses in the story for these and I certainly do not need more for me to introduce. If you want to know who exactly is on the list, go check on my Bio. It is ALL there!**

**Even if you are the greatest and nicest person in the world, and even if you ask nicely and say please, I can't. The chance was taken up by others. And to note, if I use humans, remember: The MADAGASCAR UNIVERSE HUMANS CANNOT UNDERSTAND ANIMALS! This is not Disney, it's Dreamworks! And in the Madagascar franchise the only things humans understand from animals is "Grr" and "ROAR!".**

**So putting that aside, I hope you guys can still read it, if not, oh well. You guys diss me, but I wanted to get this out of the way just in case future people come to read this story.**

**- ROAR!-**


	4. One Condition

**Chapter IV. - One Condition**

They had arrived late because of the tiny miscommunication the Penguins and the monkeys had with the humans. But after a few quick moves and quick decisions, they had finally gotten the train set to go to their destination. It had taken a few hours, the animals didn't know where they were going but many had a few great imaginations to say what they believed the experience would be like. Some grouped together in the cars and talk nonstop about how they would win and gain respect from both American and European Circuses. Vitaly would sometimes nap for awhile, then wake up to hear them still talking about it, listen, then sleep again.

He swore he took at least 6 naps until the train had started to slow down, and finally, stop. The animals looked at each other excitedly before finally coming out. It had been a bit dark in the cars, making the animals squint in the sunlight to see where exactly they had stopped. Once their eyes had gotten adjusted to the sun, they widened at the sight.

At least one, HUGE, Circus tent stood in the middle, with four others surrounding it. Only one spot was left, surrounding it and Vitaly figured that must be theirs. Curiously, he thought there would be more of them around, but he decided to ask about that later. Some gasped while the others cheered. They were _finally _here. They started to move downwards until they heard Skipper's voice.

"Who, whoa whoa! Not so fast my monogrammatic friends!" he said loudly. The penguins slid in front of the whole Circus, looking quite unimpressed, but when did they really? Vitaly raised an unexistent eyebrow.

"Vat you say?" he asked. Marty walked right next to him, smiling.

"Oh, they call me and the rest like that. Except for Alex, they call him 'Physcotic lion' or something like that"

"Vell.. it fits" Marty chuckled. Skipper pointed to his buffier comrade.

"Rico!" The scarred penguin coughed, and coughed, then chocked, and out came a peice of white paper. Skipper took it without noting that it had some of Skipper's spit in it.. and a few of his.. other... things.

"It says here that all Circus animals must go through an Inspection in order to compete in the Competition" the news was met with outcries and such other things animals do when they're upset: Complaints. Aghast and dismayed, the animals turned to the four newest members of their Circus crew. Alex looked at the others who shrugged and he looked back at the other of his mates and shrugged as well.

"That's America for ya"

0O0

The animals quickly went to work prepping themselves up. The Penguins went ahead to alert the humans that Circo Zarazoga had arrived and they had to work quickly to make themselves look incredible and presentable. The dogs were groomed, the elephants washed, others primed, all except Vitaly. He fumed angrily, walking away from Gia and Stefano who held a bucket of water, a few brushes, and a comb. He stepped into his car and shut the door before they could come in.

"Aw, c'mon-a Vitaly! You being-a mean! You need to-a wash!" Stefano said, holding a bucket of water. Gia knocked on his car-door.

"Viatly, you _must_ be clean when the humans come! Just let me and Stefano-"

"_NYET_! I vill not look like wimpy pussycat!" Gia and Stefano looked at each other and kept knocking and yelling out for Vitaly to come out. The tiger merely responded harshly, and louder than before each time.

"_Nyet_! _Nyet_! _NYET_!" he kept repeating over and over again. Alex looked at the scene with amusement. Normally, he would think that a Tiger likes being clean. Vitaly was something different, he simply refused to be groomed by these two. Something told Alex that something like this had happened before and Vitaly was making sure nothing like that happened again. He smirked slightly before walking off.

He had put extra conditioner on, making his fur and mane look completely glossy, as an added bonus, he even found a bottle of cologne. It smelled nice, so, naturally, he had sprayed some on. And he must say that he smelled as nice as he looked. He walked over to his car to look himself once more in the mirror before the humans came but then... he smelled the air a bit. Okay, sure, he wasn't an expert in actually recognizing scents but his time in Africa had taught him a few tricks thanks to his mother and father.

This scent, he did not recognize. It was, fresh, a bit scruffy, and too much paint. He looked around for awhile and he spotted nothing out of the ordinary. The animals did about their stuff, some bthed themselves in water and scrubbed themselves with some spare shampoo... a very nice, good smelling one that is. He was surprised that everyone here could fix themselves so well. The scent came again, stronger than before. And it was behind him.

He turned to see something move in the tall grass behind his car, and he moved slowly towards it. As he got closer, he could make the outline of it: Small, a scruffy top, and it looked to be a small house cat or a cub.

"Hey. Who're you?" he asked. The figure poked it's head out and stared at Alex sheepishly. It was a cub, a small, scruffy, lion cub. Barely a few months old.

"Whoa. You guys are the new ones? You're pretty small" the cub said, coming closer to Alex. The lion stared at the small cub incredulously. The cub was a lighter brown, almost like a tan, his under-paws and muzzle were completely pale. His eyes were a deep, hunter green, and Alex noted that the cub looked pretty... suspicious to be way out here.

"Yeah. We're Circo Zarazoga.. from Europe" the cub tilted his head.

"Then how come you don't have a European accent?" Alex blinked. This was a first for him.. cubs.

"Oh, well, it's because, well, I'M not European, I'm a New Yorker. I just went to Europe for a little vacation and I'm in the Circus!" The cub sniffed him and made a face.

"You smell like my ringmaster. She wears alot of perfume" Alex chuckled nervously.

"No, this is cologne. Not perfume"

"Well, it smells a little girly" Alex tried to maintain himself to not roll his eyes. The cub was rather... curious about how he smelled.

"Hey, wait a minute. What are doing doing way out here? Aren'y ou suppose to be-" the boy turned his head suddenly, one ear in the air. He stood for awhile before turning to Alex.

"By the way, I'm Iggy. But I can't chat no more, my momma's calling me" and the cub ran off, leaving Alex quite awestruck. That was quite a fast meeting, and a very weird one. He never had a conversation with a cub except in Africa, but that time, they thought he was a bit weird. And he couldn't blame them, lions don't dance. Alex, finding that he wasn't going to see that cub in awhile turned to only find Vitaly followed by Stefano and Gia. It took Alex only a second to realize that Vitaly had been groomed.

His sticky hair on the top of his head had been combed back, his scruffy fur at the edge of his shoulders and elbows were brushed back into his fur. His face was absolutely priceless, it was a mix of shame, powerlessness, embarrassment, and annoyance. Alex held in a laugh. The poor tiger looked absolutely miserbale. Stefano waddled forward.

"Alice! What do you-a think of-a our masterpiece!" he exclaimed exitedly. Alex looked at Vitaly and opened his mouth but Vitaly cut him off.

"If you _ever_ speak of this to anyone, means of castrating are good to keep one shut" Alex then shut his mouth. Vitaly wasn't the comedy type. And this did not sound like a threat he wanted to take his chance with. He could lose his beautiful amne! Alex smiled nervously and patted Vitaly's shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry big guy, you'll never hear a peep outta me!" Vitaly nodded, not really sure of Alex was going to blab this little "secret" out to anyone more, but glared at him, warning him that he did mean to use certain neccessary things in order to keep him quiet. Vitaly regrets nothing. Or that was something he really would like to believe. Now insulted and his pride damaged, he hastily made his way to his car where he would stay until the humans came to check them all. he picked up one of his knives and aimed it towards a outline of Alex on his wall, and fired. It landed on it's head, just like the first time.

He waited in his car for awhile, wanting to get rid of the uncomfortableness of how his hair felt on his head. He always had it up, and it felt _alien_ to have it this way, all combed back until every hair was down in a somewhat gracefull manner. He hated it. He hated how it felt.

"Come-a out! Come-a out! The humans are-a here!" he heard Stefano yell outside. Vtaly got up from his hammock, looked himself in the mirror. He frowned at his hair. He could try to fix it to a style he likes. He took both of his paws and rubbed his hair crazily. When he looked back up, he found it the same as it was. Sticking up. He smiled. Well, it didn't look nice but at least he did not have that stupid hairdo on his head. With that happy note, he walked out of his car to where the others were at, stationed at the front so the humans could have a better look at them.

**0O0**

**LOL! Poor Vitaly, I am sorry for doing this to you! XD I luv you and all but I just HAD to! :'D I hope you guys thought this as funny as I did! X3 **

**I have to get off soon so no more Chapters until tomorrow ^^ In the mean time, you can enjoy this one! ^^ **


	5. Train Of Events

**Chapter V - Train Of Events**

Inspection went off smoothly, surprisingly. They had all been checked and inspected, the only thing that caused a problem was sticking something sharp into their skin. Vitaly had shots before, so this wasn't new. But others were not too keen in having something sharp putting something in, or taking something out of their body. He growled when it stung but he said nothing at all. The others were not so lucky. Stefano had actually freaked but, with some persuasion, the humans managed to get a shot out of him harmlessly.

Now, with the humans gone, the animals became more nervous than excited. And they had the right to, most of them never had shots before, some were never even tested before, and that was enough to down the spirits of some. Luckily (Well not so lucky) Julien would come before them and start to proclaim that with his beautiful blood and Sonya's, of course, their Circus would be pardoned of anything bad came out. He was just_ that _good. Vitaly merely raised a brow but shrugged it off. Obviously, the Zoo gang were used to shots, so of course they had no problem in passing the tests.

They tried to cheer up the others as best as they could, but to no avail. No one felt sure they were going to make it through. The only ones not present to give blood were the penguins and Monkeys. With their disguise, they seemes to evade anything and everything human-related. And speak of the devisl, here they came. Vitaly watched as he saw them from afar, then looked back to the others. Their faces still down.

"They are here" he said, which alerted everyone and charged straight at them. Alex went in front.

"So? Did we make it?" He asked. The penguins slid from under, and smiled at the lion.

"Of course we did!" he said, earning cheers and laughing. The peguins slapped their fins again, and ended with Skipper slapping private. Julien came to the front, with his girlfriend Sonya riding her bear, he looked smugly at the other animals.

"See? I told you our beauty shall save us!" he said, giving his bear a huge kiss, but ignored by the other animals, and, the ones who heard, pretended that they didn't. They had passed! Which meant that they could participate- only... where? The animals looked over to the Arena-like tent, and pondered for awhile. Vitaly could clearly see that they had stumbled upon the question he had wondered for awhile.

"But, uh, if there are so many Circuses, how in the world are there only five tents!" The female Elephant, Duchess, asked, pointing her trunk towards the Arena and the five other Circus tents, smaller but impressive, surrounding it. The Penguins slid over to where the rest were looking at and examined the place. It was true, why were there only _five _tents? If the penguins did not know, then would the humans? Skipper turned to his men,

"Men! We have some kind of whacked out conspiracy goin' on here! Private! I want you to locate any papers having to do with this competition. Kowalski! I want you to do a methodical background check of all the competitions before. Rico!" the buffy penguins laughed crazily and threw up a surprisignly too large for his size but threatening weapon. Skipper sighed. "No. No blowing up tents this time. Remember the last time?" Rico pouted but gulped the weapoon back, rubbing his tummy. The Penguins soon disappeared and there was nothing left to do but to get the train all the way over to the empty space.

0O0

It was nothing, really, the Trapeze had always been easy to put up after awhile. It took them less and less time to have it up after each practice, maybe it was because they were already so used to doing it. Yeah, that was it. Alex and Gia made their way up the ladder to the sloop, where they can prepare themselves then jump in the air. Alex went at the same time as Gia, and without little interference, perfected their act, and did it a couple of more times.

Alex would jump and swing while catching Gia as she would come towards him, and Gia would jump and swing while she caught him. It went back and forth but never did the act got old, it was more like, magical. In a romantic type of way. Alex looked over his shoulder for a bit, spotting the sun setting once again. A feeling switched inside him and he realized this may be his chance to tell her.

Once he caught her in his paws he didn't let go, "Hey, Gia!" he called. The Jaguar turned her head upward to see him and nodded her head for him to continue. "I was just *Gasp* thinking, *Sigh* you wanna take a *Gasp* break?" Gia nodded, giggling and Alex let go. gia landed on the net as well as Alex who unwittingly landed beside her, making her jump w bit in the air, laughing like as if she was a cub again. She felt like a cub. Alex looked back up to the sun, it was still setting, though much lower than when he saw it before. He looked at Gia and saw that she might have been thinking the same. She looked at him and smiled. She had such a gorgeous smile.

"Gia-" but he was cut off with one of her paws on his lips. Gia was shushing him.

"Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"Be quiet" at first, he took this as a way for her telling him to stop trying to kiss or or do anything with her until she pulled him over. Oh,_ that's _what she , well. He preffered it this way, actually; short, sweet, and to the point. As he closed his eyes and got closer to her, he heard Marty's voice.

"ALEX! ALEEEEEEEEX! Hey, Ally-al! Stop what ya doin' and get ya furry butt here!" Alex pulled away from Gia, grumbling, leaving the jaguar to laugh. Another kiss. _Ruined. _Can't he ever catch a break? The Zebra trotted over to him, looking excited and pumped. Alex thought it must've been the cannons again. Marty _loved_ practicing his cannon act with Stefano. But this didn't seem the case, he looked breathless and more jumpy that usual whenever he did the cannon act. At least, today he did.

Obviously, Marty did not know he had interrupted something vitally important to him. And alex had to admit if his kissing Gia was interrupted like this again and again, he wondered when they were ever going to kiss! Marty sighed heavily,

"Hey, I just finished paintin' some murals on the train, ya GOTTA see them! I made them all epic-lookin' and I KNOW you'll like yours!" Marty said happily, dragging Alex away from Gia who looked at the two of them curiously. Alex looked back at her and mouthed: _Sorry. _Gia nodded, understanding. As she looked up into the setting sun she thought about their next kiss. Or if there would be a kiss at all.

0O0

Marty looked proudly over the paintings on the Train and Alex had to admit, they were stunning. His was, guilt as charged, the best he's seen of any posters. Even the ones back at the Zoo weren't as good as the one Marty had painted for him. His had caught every good angle, he was smiling, swinging on the Trapeze and, oh nice! Marty even added Gia in the background! Sweet! Alex looked at Marty approvingly.

"Nice work, pal!" Marty smiled and added his signature at the bottom. A print of his hoof in green.

"Aww, it was nothin'. I just though it'd a be nice if I made ya look more fabulous here, along with ya girlfriend" Alex froze at that.

"Excuse me?" Marty laughed, hitting Alex in his arm.

"Aw, c'mon man! Are you telling me you and her are not-" he put his hoofs together and fluttered his eyes. "Together?" Alex grumbled and seperated Marty's hooves from reminding him of the painful truth. Marty laughed for awhile before realizing that Alex wasn't saying anything, or denying anything. "Really?" he said dubiously. "You an' her are really not... together?"

"No, Marty, we're not" Alex said crossing his arms in annoyance. Marty, not getting the drift, laughed.

"Really? When I saw you an' her in the net- I was about to BET you guys were kissing!" he laughed. Alex merely grumbled then looked back at the mural, then at Marty.

"Hey, great painting. Cna we the the others now and drop this?" the lion asked. Marty lowered his laughing to a snicker and nodded his head.

"Sure, pal. Let's go!" and Marty trotted over to the next car, alon with Alex behind him. Alex thought for a moment. Were he and Gia ever going to catch a break? Marty held his hoof up at the next Mural. A painting of Gia. She looked gorgeous, Marty even did a great job of trying to match to her beauty and the pink paint she used on her marks. It even had a mini Alex in the background, smiling. Alex smiled faintly.

**0O0**

**Poor Alex and Gia, they can't ever catch a break, huh, my dear readers? XD YES! Another Chapter! And hopefully one more for today. My Chapters 6-10 I don't like, for some reason or two, and I plan to replan them to them them fit more into the story. So enjoy this one! Hopefully a few more Chapters tomorrow ^^**


	6. Vexatious

**Chapter VI. - Vexatious**

He threw one knife, point blank, and it landed with ease. He threw another one, that one was a bit more lower in aim, but still appropriate. Vitaly did not know what had gotten into him. He was grumpy, more than usual, when he should be happy. Many things have happened to make him the way he was. And he hated it. He didn't want to remember, but he found himself staring out the small slits through his door in wonder. And then the flashback came.

_0O0_

_Irina had turned out to be a very attractive young tigress. She was slick and powerful, she had strength, and that's what made Vitaly so proud of her. The notable trait she had was a blonde fringe on her head, which helped define her blue eyes. Vitaly had to admit she was a lovely tigress. She liked to play around, make people laugh and smile, she was like Stefano but Irina (Sorry Stefano) was much smarter than he was. He only looked at Irina as a friend, never before did it come to her that Irina would become very... beautiful. _

_He didn't know when it had occured to him that he started to like her. She made him smile, she was always the one to get him to try and try again. She made him happier than anyone ever did. He also could tell she'd be an excellent mother one day. The way she treated Gia was simply amazing. The cub would listen to everything she had to say, and Gia would sometimes share secrets with Irina that the cub would dare not tell Vitaly. This had hurt him a bit but it was a girl thing. Girls talked amongst themselves._

_The only thing he disliked about the tigress is her navievability. The lion, Adui, was always talking bad about everyone in the Circus, but still the Tigress would treat him with pity, not out of mockery, but os saddness. The lion did not get it at first but after awhile, the whole Circus started to realize that Adui's behavior became more and more appropriate. Adui had grown out his mane and it was quite impressive. The lion looked over it smugly and even Vitaly had to admit it was something a lion had to take pride in. _

_The thing that had actually bothered him was Adui's sudden attraction to _his _Irina. The lion would comment her every day, telling her she was a real beauty and Irina would become very shy around him. It became a problem, and Vitaly found the tiggress spending more and more time with the lion every day. He had to put a stop to it or he would lose Irina. He really loved her. She was his day, his night, she was his flower. And he knew he must prove his love for her to have her. He just wondered how exactly he should do it. _

_Gia never really caught onto his attarction, his love, for Irina but she knew him well enough to know something was bothering him. She approached him, her new necklace bouncing of her small chest and she climbed his backside, only to finally plop on his head. His eyes trailed upward and he saw the cutest little golden eyes he had ever seen. _

_"_Ciao_, Vitaly!" the cub greeted happily. Vitaly smiled and rested his head. _

_"_Privet_, Gia. And how are you?" he replied. The cub smiled and played with his ear with her paw._

_"What is wrong Vitaly? You seem down nowadays. Does it have to do with Irina?" she asked. Vitaly eye's noticably widened and he picked his head up suddenly. Making Gia slide down his back not-so-gracefully. He looked back at the cub who had flipped over and was now on her back, trying to get up on her feet. _

_"Roll to side. It easier to get up" he advised. The cub tried it and giggled when she had made it. _

_"Thanks, Vitaly!" she smiled, wagging her tail. Vitaly rested again, still looking at Gia. _

_"Vat do you mean if I have problem with Irina?" he asked the cub. Gia licked her paw and ran it over her head. _

_"You just seem upset with her. Are you mad?" she asked. Vitaly kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to say anything to the cub, she was still so small and young, she couldn't possibly understand his predicament right now. _

_"Does she like, Adui?" he asked. His heart ready for the answer. The cub thought about it then smiled._

_"She thinks Adui can be nice. She doesn't like him. Only wants to help" Vitaly sighed, wanted to jump up and dance around, He still had a CHANCE! BUt he kept his composure or Gia will want to understand why he was so happy. _

_"Thank you Gia. Oh! Promise you von't say thing to Irina" he said. Gia nodded and rested herself on his paw. _

_"Vitaly, I played outside. Now I'm all dusty. I need a bath!" Vitaly's eyes widened. _

_"IRINA!"_

_0O0_

Vitaly growled as he shook his head. He had to stop having flashback like this, even though it was back before the incident, he didn't want to remember. His feelings, everything, Irina had pushed him away. It still hurt him, and no amount of joy can heal it. He hated the way he felt right now. He felt weak, weak because he can't get over one stupid tigress! There are plently more who would take interest, he was sure, but how long would that tale? Gah! Nyet! He shook his head and climbed onto his hammock. He grumbled silently. Maybe a good night's sleep with help him get his mind straight.

0O0

Marty had just finished with another magnificent masterpiece! His mural of Gloria and Melman's car, it was a good thing theirs were right next to each other, it just made room for more inspiration and art! He drew them dancing on the Trapeze, each having fun. He tried to get Melman's look of love and fun in his eyes as well as Gloria. He hoped that the two would be pleased with the effect. This came out so nicely if they didn't like it, he would be, well, heartbroken. He looked back at his earlier painting of Alex on the Trapeze with Gia and something suddenly hit his brain like a brick wall.

His friends had someone. He had no one.

Okay, that was a random thought, but as he looked at the tightrope, he saw Melman and Gloria doing a remake of a ballet and laughing with each other. They were having so much fun, and the fun was doubled because they were together. He then looked at Alex and Gia who started to talk with each other. Gia made Alex laugh and Alex made Gia laugh. They were obviously going to be together anytime soon, no matter how much Vitaly would deny it, but they would be together. And who would he have? Sure, the Andalusian Triplets were nice and pretty and all, but he wasn't really interested in them. They were just friends he befriended on his first day as a Circus mate.

They seemed fond of him, but not to find. They obviously thought of him as a friend as well. It was then that Marty realized that his blissfulness of being in a Cirucs competition had totally thrown the fact that he was single out of the window. He was blinded by his happiness but now that he was painting and giving his friends a mural they would like, he had realized that he was completely mateless. He should stop painting now. Marty slowing put his brushes and the paint away and walked into his car. He still needed to paint it but he will when he felt inspired to do so. Not now, he was realizing too much right now. And he trotted into his car.

0O0

Melman had never felt so alive. Well, he actually had but that argument can wait until later when he wasn't having so much fun! Gloria was so fun to be with, he just loved trying new styles when dancing. She even tried to do some Salsa along with it, even adding some hip hop here and there. Either all, it was perfect. It was even more perfect just to be there alone with her. Gloria deserved everything she wanted in the world, and he would like nothing better than to please his Gloria and give her everything she ever wished for.

And there lay the problem.

As much as he loved Gloria, a few things that she wanted, was, to him, completely impossible. The first was getting married. Okay, that was mcuh easier to do but how in the world- Oops! Almost missed a step there- was he supposed to propose to her? He wanted to give her something beautiful, like a diamond or a jewel to make it an offical and _real _proposal. He can't just get something like a chewed up pen cap and _viola! _just put it onto her finger! Her precious hands deserved more than that!

Another thing: kids. Gloria loved them. She loved babies, she loved taking care of babies, she loved them endlessly, and that was his biggest worry. How could a Giraffe and Hippo come together and- kids? It was out of the question, never heard of, and that was certain enough. He knew well enough that Gloria was trying to let that sweet dream go in order to be with him, despit the difference in species. Melman wouldn't stand it if he didn't give Gloria what she wished for most on the world but- kids?

Gloria laughed and watched Melman with loving eyes until she spotted his facial expression change from merriment to worry. She slowed their dancing quickly, and even melman did not even realize that until she cleared her throat.

"Melman, honey. Is somehting bothering you? You feel ok?" she asked. Melman nodded his head ferociously. Gloria could absolutely not know about what he was thinking. He couldn't afford for her to come to her senses and realize that she needed to be with a Hippo, not a Giraffe and leave him. Melman knew it was selfish for him to do so, but he couldn't help it. He loved Gloria. Maybe adoption would be good, yeah, that was one way of solving it.

"I'm okay, Gloria. It's just-" he wondered his eyes to the scenery below him and realized it was getting dark. "It's late, and we have to come down to our cars in case it gets too dark and we fall" he looked down fearfully. Gloria nodded her head in understandment.

"Yeah. Yeah, okay" she said and the two made their way down.

**0O0**

**I feel bad for poor Melman, really, I do. I told you guys I'd have another Chapter up! Hopefully one more, and, if not, tomorrow then! Can't wait for you guys to read! Luckily, Chapters 7-10 have been planned and already I'm working on further into it. Hopefully this will be a long story so stay tuned!**

**Will Vitaly get over his past love? Will Marty find love? Will Melman find a way to please Gloria without failing her completely? Who knows! :D Stay tuned for more crack-loving and halarity in Madagascar 4! **

**Wow, I sound like an announcer in a suspensful show. XD :}**


	7. The 1st Theme

**Chapter VII. - The 1st Theme**

The next day, the Circus was rudely awakened by the horn that belonged to the Penguins. Everyone had come out of their car while the dogs started complaining about now getting enough dog sleep. Vitaly had sleeped quite nicely, and didn't mind the sudden uproar of animals who complained. Skipper had slid up to them atop of a few dynamite boxes and held up a piece of white paper.

"I got the instructions and the information on the first round: "_Field Trip_" the animals looked curiously at each other. What the heck did that mean? Even Vitaly was caught off guard. What was going on? What did 'Field trip' even mean? What did it have to do with the Circus competition? Skipper, catching everyone's look of non-understandment, cleared his throat.

"This is a themed competition, animals. The humans give you a theme to follow on the first round, and you ahve to compete with the others to see which Circus was spot on and was most enjoyable! It will also be held in 6 days and judged by the audience... which will be children" The animals looked at each other. America was a weird place indeed. It was also weird, they should not forget weird. Alas, the animals had to renew their acts. They had to be kid-friendly and enjoyable.

It was preposterous since they have preformed about a hundred times in front of kids all over the world but apparently that did not matter to Americans. Strange indeed. The only one who refused to change his act was Vitaly. Of course. The tiger was a complete traditionalist, it took him awhile to get him used to the idea of changing the Circus. It was no surprise that he would despise the idea of changing his act. Besides, the only other thing he could do was throw knives, but he doubt he could use that near any human children. Nasty little vermin. he could do nothing else but a few backflips and cartwheels. He doubted that will be enough to impress whatever judges there were.

Stefano and Gia came up to him, and Vitaly knew instantly he was not going to like it. The Sea Lion waddled towards him holding a few colorful balls in his arms with Gia right behind smiling. He eyed them supiciously.

"Vat do you vant?" he asked carefully. Stefano smiled and started to juggle, a failed attempt just waiting to happen, which did. Gia smiled at him widely. He prepared himself for the worst.

"Hey Vitaly, we know that you do not want to change your act" she said. Vitaly huffed.

"Yes. So vhat?" he asked.

"Well, we thought that it wouldn't hurt if you just changed it this _one_ time-"

"Nyet!"

"Vitaly!"

"Nyet! I vill not do it!"

"But Vitaly-"

"NYET!" Stefano sighed and looked at Gia.

"We just-a thought it-a be-a good idea if-a you were a clown" Vitaly stared at his friends with wide eyes. A _clown_!

"**NYET!**" he yelled before he stormed off. Gia and Stefano followed the Russian Tiger.

"But Viatly, the kids'll love it!" Gia exclaimed. Stefano nodded his head in agreement but still, Vitaly refused to trade his act for being in a clown suit! He'd rather do anything else than become a clown! He will not do it! Gia and Stefano ran after him, trying to change his mind but to no avail. This would be harder than expected.

But sadly, not one of the other animals had any idea of what to do for their act. They had to have some kind of "field trip" air about it and they were so completely new to this "themed" competition. Some tried to come up with ideas that they liked to do as kids, but this was _human_ kids they had to impress. And they had no humans to help them. Alex caught the air of no motivation in his fellow Circus mates and tried to cheer them up.

"Hey guys! What's with the long faces? We have to practice!" he exclamied loudly. The animals looked at him with sad looks.

"We don't know what kids would like to see us do" Alex smiled and jumped onto the Dynamite box.

"Aw come on guys! You just need to improvise! Dance! Juggle! Do awesome tricks that'll knock the pants outta all those kids!" he smiled. The animals stared at Alex then at each other. Then back at him. Alex then thought to himself. What else? "Do this for the others! We're competing in one of the best competitions in the Circus World! Are you just gonna let some silly theme ruin your vibe?" the animals shook their heads.

"NO!"

"Then come on! Invent something crazy! Something kids would love so see! Elephants dancing, painting, doing tricks like backflips!" The two Elephants, Duchess and Arthur, looked at each other and smiled. The dogs exchanged looks before running off. Alex didn't know what they were up to but hopefully they would find something fun for the kids to watch. Soon, most of the animals left with ideas in their head about what to show, and they were hopeful that it would give them a good impression on the other rival Circus folk.

Vitaly watched from afar, his arms crossed and leaning onto his car. He watched as the animals made their way through thr Circus grounds to renew their acts into somehting they were not familiar with. Thankfully, he had lost Stefano and Gia, so he didn't know where they were and they did not know where he was. Hopefully. He sighed, lookign down and spotted a small ball. It must've been one of those Stefano used to "juggle". He bent down to pick it up, threw it in the air and an idea formed in his head. Why not juggle? He looked around and spotted a few more not far ahead. He put three in his paws and started to try it out.

Nothing to it, just precise thoriwing and grabbing in the air. As he caught the third in his paw he decided his new act. Juggling it was.

**0O0**

**O-Kay, this Chapter is alot smaller than I would've imagined but at least it's something X3 I actually like this Chapter, even though I was continually distracted by the TV thanks to the _Big Bang Theory_ -_- That show is AWESOME!**

**So next Chapter will not be up today sadly, it will be up tomorrow... WAIT! It IS tomorrow! :O *Shot***

**Enjoy this one until a few hours later when I don't feel sleepy... man I feel like drinking milk now. TO THE FRDIGE!**


	8. One Step At A Time

**Chapter VIII. - One Step At A Time**

It had taken all day for most of the animals to come up with something new to do. It was a bit less than harder after Alex's speech but, still, it proved to be quite a feet to do what they were doing. If they had to do something the kids would love, but could still do without hurting themselves, they would do it, but how? The sun had already set but some were still practicing away. Some had decided enough was enough for the day and they went off to sleep in their Cars.

Only a few stayed, but soon the whole ground was as empty as a ghost town. Melman and Gloria were one of the lasts on this night, and, following their usual routine, Melman would accompany his girlfriend to her car and kiss her goodnight. Gloria blushed and giggled, her wonderful laugh echoing throughout the Circus grounds.

"Oh have a goodnight Melman, I love you" she said, still giggling and kissed hr boyfriend on the cheek. She paid no mind after she had closed her door, for Melman had stood were he was standing, paralyzed with happiness. She just told him that she LOVED him! He was beyond happy, but, how to show it? After a few wobby steps, Melman went next door to his car and opened the door.

He went inside and struggled to put his head out of the top window on his car, it was especially made for him, and he thanked his Circus friends who helped build it. As soon as his body was in, he closed his car door and prepared himself to start sleeping until he heard something. He turned both of his sides but spotted no one outside their cars. He pondered for a moment before getting back to go to sleep once again.

There it was again.

Angirly, he looked side to side, crazily, hoping to spot someone making that noise so he know he could go to sleep. The only lights that were on were those of the lamps outside each Car, so it wasn't hard to see if one car door was open. None were, though. He sniffed, getting the creepy feeling that he was being watched. He turned his head back to go to sleep until his eye wandered far to close to it's corner, where he never had thought to look at.

A white figure stood in plain sight, on the other side. As Melman looked more closely he could see that it was on the field where the other rival Circus was at, just trotting away. At first, he thought that it was just a little trick from the light, that there really was no one there but as he rubbed his eyes, blinked, and looked again, there it was still. The thing had trotted closer, and he started to shake. He started to get the strange feeling that- that _thing _was watching him, and it was starting to get closer.

He held it in for a moment, he didn't want to look at it any longer but he must, he was paralyzed with fear, the thing was actually coming for him, but as it got closer, Melman started to realize what it was: Unearthly... _ghostly_. It-was-a-freaking-ghost.

And he yelled.

_**A Few Minutes Before**_

It had been a big day for them. Gia could hardly wait, she had decided to do something extra fun, but she still had yet to figure out what exactly these kids would like. She knew American children were different from European, but how different? Did they have some things in common besides being small and driving their parents crazy? She walked towards her car and noticed her Mural. It was different now, it didn't have Gia sitting on a stool and doing tricks like her old act.

This was was repainted, and different, it had her, doing the trapeze and having fun with it. Alex was on it too, ready to catch her when she let go. Her fur was painted the right shade of light yellow, and her spots were partly colored to show off the paint she used during showtime. It was simply beautiful. She couldn't believe it, who had done this for her? Alex? Or was it someone else? She looked at Alex's and saw the same Mural, only he was in the spotlight now. And she was in it too, preparing to catch him.

She smiled. This was a delightful present. She opened her car door, hoping that the paint was dry, until she heard grunting and some other noises coming from not too far away. She held one ear up, hoping to track the noise down and she caught a nice trail not too far away. She walked and did not lower her ear, she was getting close. She turned a corner and saw Alex dancing. No, really, dancing. He had nice moves. He twirled, jumped in the air, made showy poses and did his best "roar" as he could. She couldn't help but giggle at the spot.

"Alex?" she asked. Said lion froze and turned his head to face her, his cheeks were burning scarlet!

"G-Gia! Wh-what are you doing up so late?"

"I should be asking you the same thing, no?" she giggled. She walked up to him and then looked down at his feet. "You never told me you danced" she noted. Alex blushed, the red tint growing darker. He fidgeted a little before rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, you never asked" he replied, smiling a bit. Gia frowned before nodding her head.

"True" she replied. "You dance so well, though. Hey! Maybe we can do that for our act!" she exclaimed excitedly. Alex jumped slightly and faced her, his face, pricelessly shocked.

"Wh-wha-?"

"Your dancing! You should teach me to dance like you! It will be our act- together!" she said excitedly, jumping up and down. Alex watched her and nervously smiled.

"Well, this dance is pretty old, Gia. I don't think you will like it once you try it"

"Just let me try it, Alex. I always wanted to dance!"

"I thought you always wanted to to the trapeze?"

"Dancing was the next best thing"

"Are you sure?"

"_Si_!" Alex sighed in defeat. Well, maybe it would be nice if he and Gia danced. The kids would surely love it, and hopefully it will give them a few points amongst the girl audience if one dancer was male and the other dancer was a female.

"Okay, well, first, you do this" Alex slid to the left, one hand behind his head and the other across his waist. "You need to move your hands in a circular motion once you're moving, like this-" he started to rotate his arms, one hand was on his head, then suddenly moved to his waist. "And you move your hips, like this" he started to move his hips in a circular motion, and then, posed. "Then you pose! And you repeat it, but to the right, this time" he repeated his earlier steps and Gia stood there, watching intently. It was hard for Alex to tell if she was impressed or rather embarrased at having to have asked him in the first place.

"Y-you got it?" he asked. Gia smiled.

"I think so. _Si_" she replied. On the first try, she had actually tripped while sliding and moving her hips, so Alex showed her an easier way to slide and move. She had mastered it in a few minutes and soon, the whole dance was perfect. Well, not all of it, there was still more of it, but the basics were learned. Alex beamed, as long as she knew that, they were in good shape. He was having fun, she was having fun and they were all... alone. He looked around, both of his sides, around the corners. Absolutely no one was outside their car. Smiling, he looked back at Gia who looked at him curiously.

"What Alex?" she asked. Alex walked towards her and held her hands in his.

"Gia, no one is outside in their car. We can't be interrupted out here". It took Gia only a few seconds to get what he was thinking. She playfully flicked him in the nose and giggled.

"You naughty cat!" she laughed. "But true. I am curious" they looked into each other's eyes, suddenly finding themselves under a trance, and beckoned foward. _Finally! _No interruptions, and since everyone was in their car, no one would know. Alex smiled as he closed his eyes, but then jumped when he heard an ear-piercing scream. He was embarrassed to know that he had fallen back, taking Gia along with him.

**0O0**

**Again, the poor couple is interrupted in their almost-kiss. Am I just terrible? XD Not to worry guys! They will get their chance... eventually... :}**

**And have any of you noticed that I usually do my submitions at night? O_O :D Somehting to enjoy while trying to go to sleep and something to look forward to when you wake up! :D Aren't I just GREAT! XD Chapter 9 will hopefully come later on tonight or tomorrow, as expected! Remember guys: More reviews means more Chapters and faster Chapters means more satisfied readers! :3 I hope I don't terribly bore you guys to death with all this, hopefully the REAL plot begins soon, or I will unknowingly lose you all!**

**I don't want to lose my audience! D':**

**But yeah. enjoy you guys! And if you guys guess which song inspired me, I will give you a internet cookie! *Holds Chocolate Chip Cookie up for ALL to see* **

**:} Alex's *MeGusta* face X3**


	9. Foreboding

**Chapter IX - Foreboding**

The screaming had nearly woken everybody up. Most of them were grumpy; they were just barely starting to fall asleep now they had to wait longer to do so. The dogs were the ones who were mostly miffed about that. They had goten comfortable in their little doggy beds and they had just finished chewing their bones, to sleep with their tummies happy, and now this! A pale, freaked out, Giraffe of a doctor!

But the reason _why _he had screamed was something that had stopped mostly everyone's complaining short- Melman had seen a ghost. And not just any ghost, a _real _one, he had actually seen it with his _bare _eyes!

"Alex! I swear! It was a full-on apparition! And it was coming closer and closer to the Circus Tent! I think it wants to haunt us!" Melman said all too quickly for any avergae animal to coprehend, but he kept repeating it so it wasn't that hard to evaluate. Alex shook his head in dismay, another kiss was ruined. Really? He was bummed more about he and Gia's moment than he was about his friend seeing a ghost that was all too close to the Circus. Gloria was worried about her boyfriend, she was sure that there was no such thing as a ghost, but she was sure he had seen something moving or coming closer. Marty, however, was more excited than scared.

For most of his life, he had wanted to be free, to be in the wild, but, his next drea, was to become a world famous animal ghost hunter. He couldn't believe that one dream already came true, here came another! When the Penguins had showed up with their nightcaps and flashlight, Kowalski was all but too pleased to explain to Marty that ghosts are just a figment of imagination, that humans only told those stories to freak themselves out. Melman didn't think any less of the experience though, and Marty didn't think any less of becoming a ghost hunter.

Vitaly merely stared at the Giraffe for awhile before snorting loudly. "Boleshevik" he merely commented then said nothing the rest of the discussion. Stefano was scared out of his flippers, but he had to admit he was almost just as curious about the ghost as Marty,_ almost_. Marty was the first to ask questions after Melman had finished his ghostly tale.

"Did it look like an animal!"

"Not one I've ever seen"

"Did it moan!"

"It made the weirdest, scariest noise that chilled be to the bone!"

"Did it give you a specific name through your mind!"

"The only name I was thinking of was _'LORD!'_" with each question, Melman gave a response, but soon Marty's questioning was starting to take it's toll on poor Melman and when Marty started to ask about the feeling he got when he saw it, Gloria had stopped him midway and told everyone to go back in their cars and let Melman rest. Marty was disappointed but agreed nonetheless and happily trotted into his car. Well, at least he'll have something on his mind now to rid of the lonliness that he felt. The others dispatched as well, saying one more good night and Gloria guided her boyfriend into his car and promised that she wouldn't leave his side tonight.

Alex gave Gia a look of sorrow and she merely smiled. She mouthed: _It's Ok. Next time!_,before she got into her Car and closed the door. Alex made sure everyone else was in their car before he made his way into his. Looking one more time outside, to make sure Melman _wasn't _really seeing ghosts, and then plopped back in.

As the animals finally made time to rest and fall asleep, they had been blisfully unaware and too distracted to recognize a different scent marking and lurching around their Circus. They were completely unaware they had been watched from afar.

The spy skillfully made it's way around the perimeter of the Circus before it prowled back slowly to a safe distance before running off to the other side of the Arena. This circus was probably more supersitious than either of them would have thought. They were a small bunch, true, but the advantage of that was that this Circus was more closely knit together, almost like a family. It was simply disgusting.

The Circus wasn't suppose to treat itself as a _family_. It was merely a slave place for animals to perform and, if they didn't do a great job, were punished. _That_ is how a Circus worked. Not some stupid family thing. How DARE they! As the spy ran faster, already in the mood to quickly spread hate amongst his Circus mates, he spotted his circus not far away. He ran faster, pushing his legs and lungs to the fullest, and was almost a blur to others. He was a cheetah, after all.

He prowled in the grass and snuck through a hole in the gate, before making his way to the car of his leader. The cat snuck through every dark shadow, undetected by the humans and soon made his way to his leader's "space" and found his lying lazily in his hammock. The cat sat straight and cleared his throat. His leader said nothing, until he heard him growl.

"Who disrupts my nap? Go away!"

"Sir, I brought you news form the new guys. They are a curious bunch, I must admit. They are doing pretty ridiculous things, juggling and dancing! They are also a very surprisingly small Circus. And they treat each other like a_ family_. Isn't that rubbish, sir?". His leader said nothing before turning around, revealing two, icy, red eyes.

"This info... is it from Circo Zaragoza?" he demanded in a harsh voice. The cheetah noded.

"Yes sir" The animal though for awhile before waving his paw.

"Good work, Solide. You are dismissed" the cheetah bowed his head and quickly ran out of his leader's car. The animal pondered to himself. How will that flumsy Circus work for his plans? They were certainly new at this, and possibly did not understand the way the world worked. He could use that to his advantage. He suddnly felt his hair puff and he didn't need to open his eyes to see who it was.

"Grace... Shida" he greeted. The two lionesses bowed their heads.

"Sir" they both said at once. The male licked his lips.

"To what do I owe this honor of you coming into my car?" the first lioness stepped foward.

"The leaders from the other Circuses but _Fantaisie _have agreed to our demands. They have been sworn to secrecy if they ever told a soul" the male smiled like a lion and chuckled.

"Good work, my dears. See to it our, ah, _guests_, are comfy on this time of night. I have a sweet plan for them. They will have a visitor soon. _Very _soon" the lionesses bowed and quickly ran out of his car. They made their way to the desolated area of the gate, where Solide had come through when he came and slid out. It was easy for them to go through, they were sleek things and ran to the other side of the meadow they were located in. A city was in it's wake, and the lionesses made sure not to be spotted by any humans at all. It could mean their lives and death to them both.

They made their way to a secret hideout near a construction building that had been postponed due to so much money going into it, and smirked at each other. The first lioness went through a small hole in the ground and the other waited patiently. Soon, a small door slid open and she walked inside, slowly, and quietly. No need to alarm humans or their special guests, now. As they made their way further underground where the humans made their basement or storage unit, they watched the few animals in cages already asleep, or too scared to talk and merely acted as if they were asleep.

The second lioness crept up to a small cage were a newborn cub lay, mewing in it's sleep. She turned back to her pridesister.

"My dear, they are excellent prisonders-of-war. I must say this cub's mother would do anything to get him back safe and sound. A pity she won't live long enough to see him again" she held a paw out and unsheathed her claw. She ran in across the bars, interrupting the cub's soundless sleep. The other lioness nodded and looked onto the others in cages. A few lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, occasioanlly a seal or two, and most of them were still a few months old.

What excellent pawns.

**0O0**

**Uh oh! BAD GUYS INTRODUCED! :D Yes, used an OC here! ^^ Grace belongs to _Jake _and I hope you like how I will portray her in the future as well as her small cameo here! ^^ I just HAD to put her with the bad guys huh? X3 Can't say too much or there _vill_ be spoilers!**

**I just hope you like the extra Chapter tonight! WH00P! One more and it will be officially TEN Chapters! :D FOUR MORE CHAPTERS THAN THE LAST VERSION AND LOOKING GOOD! :}**

**More OC's will be introduced in cameo's before fully introduced X3 Wish me luck in the planning guys! R&R! ^^**


	10. A Whacked Out Conspiracy

**Chapter X - A Whacked Out Conspiracy**

Marty had been totally convinced after the whole incident that there was indeed a ghost haunting the Circus grounds. He was also fully convinced that Melman did indeed, see a ghost and was it's only sole witness. He had all night to think about how exactly to confront it, what to say, what to use to capture it, and how exactly were they going to figure out why it was haunting. He had seen enough Ghost Hunters back in New York to know exactly what to use and how to do it. The only thing he needed to do now was very simple, yet vitally important: A team.

Normally he would get Alex and Gloria as well as Melman to come, but he wasn't sure the lion and the hippo were going to be eager to do any type of ghost hunting. Melman, well, he would probably never go with him, but a Zebra had to try, right? He walked out slowly from his car, trying to catch any glimpse of any of his three friends. He didn't seem to see any of them anywhere, much less anyone else was out of their cars at this hour. What was this hour anyways?

No sign of the penguins anywhere to give him a clear time, he looked both ways, then closed his door and trotted towards Alex's car. It was a good thing the paint was dry now. He knocked once. Twice. Threee times. Oh the heck with his cat naps!

"ALEEEEEX!" he yelled, punching the door. He heard a grunt coming from the inside of the car and backed away before the door slid open, revealing a grumpy kitty. Alex frowned when he saw Marty, slightly.

"Marty" he whined. "It's, like, seven? IN THE MORNING! Can't your weekly morning greetings wait until-"

"No! I mean- yes! No! It's not that, I just wanted to talk about Melman" Alex gave Marty a look.

"Dude, whatever he saw last night- it wasn't a ghost"

"How do you know!" Marty snapped. "You're too afraid of the dark to even see if it really was a ghost!" Alex deepened his frown.

"I am _not _afraid of the dark. I just don't belive in ghosts!"

"Tell you what, if you come with me to investigate when night comes, I'll become your servant until this whole competition ends!" Alex raised an eyebrow at his best friend.

"And what do I do if I lose?" Marty thought for a bit and smiled.

"Admit for once that you were wrong, be MY servant until this blows off and if you don't, I'll tell Vitaly that you were the one who took his yarn ball!" Alex stared at his friend with shock.

"Y-you _wouldn't_!" he sputtered. Marty mereley grinned from ear to ear.

"I'm not kid. Do I kid?" he asked innocently. Alex scowled and raised his hands in defeat.

"Fine. You win. I'll go do the stupid ghost hunt. And now, since I'm awake, might as well start on my act with Gia" he jumped off of his car in front of Marty and playfully smacked the Zebra's shoulder. Marty sniffed satisfied and trotted off to where Gloria and Melman's car were located. He saw Melman outside of his hole in the cieling of his car and him still snoring away. He looked around, but no sign of Gloria. Was she inside with him or next door and had left Melman shortly after he knocked out so she could get some shut eye?

Well, only one way to find out! He knocked on Gloria's first. No answer. He knocked again. Nothing but the sound of Melman's loud snoring. The Zebra raised his eyebrow and knocked one more time before calling out her name.

"Gloria? It's me, Marty. Are you in there?" he asked. Still no answer came from the hippo. Marty then looked at Melman. "Yo, melman!"

"GUAH! GHOST! IN THE SHAPE OF A- oh. It's just you, Marty" Melman sighed, looking pretty relieved. Marty shook his head, oh Melman.

"Hey! Where's Gloria? Is she still sleeping"

"No she's wide awake. What do you need Marty?" Gloria addressed herself in the third person and appeared behind Marty with a bucket of water. Marty jumped slightly at his friend's sudden appearance but looked at both of them after his shcok was quite gone.

"I was just wondering if you guys would come to investigate the ghost Melman saw last night" Gloria sighed before putting the bucket down.

"There _is _no ghost, Marty. I assure you, there's no need for an investiagtion"

"But what if there is Gloria! You can't just tell if you've never seen it!"

"True, but I can't leave Melman here while I'm off ghost hunting!"

"I wouldn't let her go, the ghost could be dangerous!" Melman added. Gloria stared at him.

"Melman, even humans wouldn't dare sneak up on me. I doubt some ghosts would even show up. I can take care of myself!" Marty eyed the two. Wow. He didn't even need to pry up to them. This was going great! He turned to leave.

"Well, if you guys change your mind-"

"I'm going!" Gloria replied loudly. Looking at Melman as if she was daring him to say no. Melman merely shrunk in his hole until he too added.

"Me too! I want to look after Gloria! I don't want her getting hurt!" Gloria smiled a little at that before nodding at Marty.

"We'll go"

"Good! The ghost hunting starts tonight!" and the Zebra left without much ado. Well, he had his team now. No need to waste time now getting ready!

0O0

As he walked towards Gia's car, he remembered about last night, when they almost had kissed. Almost. They had been interrrupted for the third time, and there was no gurantee that this would stop. Well, at least they had been getting closer throughout the whole "never kissed" thing. It made him even more determined. Sure, some may have called him desperate to kiss Gia but he had to know if she was the one. He was sure Gia thought the same way he did. How else could they function so perfectly?

He was nearing Gia's car until he was harshly pulled away suddenly, making him fall backward instead of taking a few steps back. Vitaly huffed.

"You are veak" he said, raising an eyebrow at the lion. Alex grunted and got up.

"You caught me off guard, that's all" Vitaly nodded, not really believing Alex but the taller cat pulled him closer, so he could speak in his ear.

"I valked around perimeter of tent. Got a scent" Alex stared at Vitaly, puzzled.

"Y-you caught a scent?"

"_Da_" Vitaly replied. "It is unknown scent. Can't identify. Not of our Circus"

"What did it smell like?" Vitaky was about to say until Gia opened her Car and spotted the two. Vitaly shut his mouth and patted Alex's shoulder a bit too harshly before going off. Gia raised an eyebrow at him then at Alex and walked over to him.

"What was that about?" Alex fidgeted a bit before actually answering her question.

"Oh, he just, caught something" Gia's eyes widened and furrowed her brow.

"He is sick?"

"No, uh. I'll explain right now, until everyone is awake" it didn't take Gia awhile to find out, because everyone woke up by then or after it, and Alex brought all the animals together, including the lemurs who never really did anything on the Circus grounds, and started his speech.

"As some of you guys know, animals can get pretty competetive during a competition against each other. So just look out for any animals you don't recognize or animals that don't belong in our circus and shoo them away" the animals looked at each other, then at Alex. Arthur the elephant spoke up,

"What do you mean keep a lookout? Were there any animals near us?" the rest started to murmur hastily, becoming quite nervous. Gia stared at Alex. He caught the look of worry in her eyes and immediately went into trying to calm his Circus friends.

"Well, so far only one, but that scent is long gone"

"There might be more animals lurking around now" Skipper said suddenly, coming up from behind Alex and sliding under his legs.

"According to our investigations, at least thirty wolrd-known Circuses were suppose to show up at the Competition. Only five did because 1) Animals from the other Circuses were either kidnapped or posioned, 2) Animals were kidnapped and their mates/parents/kids would refuse to act for unknown circumstances, and 3) The less competition, the better of winning, which means one of your Circus competitors is the culprit behind all these tragedies" And then all hope of Alex calming his Circusey friends was terminated just like that.

The Anadalusian Triplets, Esmeralda, Esperanza, and Ernestia, gasped and neighed fearfully.

"What if we're next!" Esmeralda yelled. Her sister joined her.

"We'll be kidnapped as well!" the third nodded and stomped her hooves on the ground.

"We did not join this competition to be bait!" the others yelled in dismay and in hysteria. Alex tried to calm the other animals down but to no avail. They wouldn't listen. The penguins merely stood there, with Skipper ordering Rico to put his lazer-gun that he had regurgitated away before he actually hurt one of the acts.

Gloria, Melman and Marty soon appeared along with Stefano who had his cannon helmet on, with Vitaly arriving not too later, carrying his juggling balls. Alex looked at his friends in worry and soon the whole lot of animals were shushed. Thanks to Vitaly and his deep voice. No one disobeyed Vitaly. The cat smirked and nodded at Alex to go on.

"Look, I know this is bad news but you guys, this is our big chance to make it to number 1!"

"Is it worth us being kidnapped and ransomed?" one of them asked. The animals agreed. Alex shook his head.

"No it's not. We can quit right now, but is that what you guys want? Do you want to quit knowing that there may be other animals, animals like you guys, even _cubs_, that are being kidnapped and ransom just to win?" the animals stayed quiet. None of them making a single noise. Alex huffed. "We can do somehting about this, we can let the Penguins do more research and, with our inside in the competition, we can find out who this guy is! What if we can stop this now? Will you guys just turn your backs?"

"What if one of us is kidnapped?" Duchess yelled next to her mate. Alex sighed.

"We forfeit the contest. Simple as that, and we forget we were ever in this competition in the first place" Gia's eyes saddened and she held onto her chest. Vitaly walked up beside her and patted her head. Stefano blinked, holding back tears. He knew it was not an easy decision, the animals that had lived here always dreamed of being number 1 again, to be loved and cherished. It was one of Stefano's biggest dreams. The animals had the same reaction and lowered their heads. Marty stepped forward.

"C'mon ya'll. We can't just give up, not yet, when nothing's happened to us. We just need to hope for the best and believe that we can get through even this. I mean, how do we know the culprit is actually _in _the Circus grounds? They're gonna a pretty big hideout to hide all those animals" some shook their heads in agreement to Marty's words. He was right. Alex gave Marty a grateful look, followed by Melman and Gloria stepping in.

"If I'm taken, I'll fight. I would want you guys to keep on goin'. Never quit" Melman sighed.

"And if you were I'd do anything it takes to get you back, even if it means risking _my_ life" Gloria looked stunned. Alex snook a peak at Gia, who still had her head lowered.

"Circus stick together. And if one of us goes down, we all do what it takes to bring them back up!" Vitaly nodded at Alex, spproving his words and Gia held her head up, her eyes illuminating the morning dew. Alex smiled, a new confidence in him. "So come on! Let's create the best show these humans have ever seen and make them remember _Circo Zaragoza_!" and the animals cheered.

0O0

After Alex had finished his speech, he had asked if the Penguins were willing to do some more detective work of who exactly was behind the kidnappings and such. They were all but less than willingly to help out, and slid off. With a new reason to fight on, the animals went straight to practice. Only a few days left to perfect their new routines and it was showtime! Alex had thanked his friends for backing him up and helping the Animals get some hope back into doing this, despite the risk. He soon found himself battling a massive bear hug from Gia. She laughed as did he, and soon got off of his back.

"Thank you Alex. Without you, the circus would have packed their bags and leave competition" she looked at the other animals who still looked down but their eyes were filled with new hope, hope that they could somehow end this tragedy from ever happening again. Alex hugged her.

"Don't worry, Gia, as long as we're together, nothing will stop us from being number 1!" Gia giggled.

"I chose well" she said before flicking her boyfriend in the nose and walking away. Vitaly watched the whole scene silently and merely snorted. He held aball in the air and started to juggle.

**0O0**

**And our heroes' first causalty: Demeaning hope to their competitors. Will you find out more? YES!**


	11. Alex's Nuisance

**Chapter XI - Alex's Nuisance**

Step one, two, three, step one, two, three; step by step they danced and danced, perfecting their routine more and more with each practice and do-over. Soon, they had finished and Alex found that Gia had done it perfectly, almsot flawlessy, like him as he had done it. Though it was hard for him to decide if she was just as good or _better_. Once he had commented how good she had done, Gia had pounced on him, giving him a very nice hug, to which he responded by giving one to her as well. He didn't mind this. She laughed, he laughed back; she hugged him, he hugged her back; she complimented him, he spoke nothing but perfection from her.

Gia had started to joke that Alex was doting her and he couldn't help but smirk. They danced their routine one more time, to make sure it was perfect, and were only interrupted at the end when Vitaly showed up. He didn't look impressed, but when did he? He still had the juggling balls in his hands but he did not seem too excited about them. Gia giggled and held a circular ring up for Vitaly to see.

"Why don't you jump the hoops and juggle?" she asked him. Vitaly smiled, liking the sound of the idea and left them, giving Alex another of his favorite glares. Alex wondered what on earth made that cat so supicious against him. Gia merely laughed and threw the ring down. "Vitaly is hard to please, but still can be pleased" she revealed before getting back in her place. Alex stared at her, puzzled, before shurgging and preparing himself for another session. Gia smiled at him.

After one more perfect session, they stopped to rest, and plopped onto the ground. Gia sighed.

"Alex" she said. The lion turned his head to face his girl.

"Yeah?"

"We are alone again" she pointed out. Instead of recieving a witty remark, she heard Alex sigh.

"What's the point? We'll just get interrrupted again!" Gia stared at Alex. Well, he was right, but that didn't mean it would be like that forever! She frowned at him and sighed as well.

"What you say is true, we are always interrupted. Here or there, but we just have to keep trying, _si_?" Alex shrugged and stood up.

"I know you and me, we have something, but, Gia, we'll never truly know unless we feel it. I know that you must one of the most life changing women in my life!" the jaguar blushed under her gold fur, her eyes lowering as to not meet Alex's eyes. She felt the same way about him. And she couldn't help but admit she shared his fustration, more than once was she tempted to just grab him and kiss him, without having a crae in the world about who stepped in- but that wouldn't be a first kiss. They would be forcing it upon themselves.

More than once had they found themselves in a romantic situation and it felt right- right before whoever came to get Alex... or her. She had to admit, she really hated that part, right before their muzzles touched and out came everyone! She seemed to understand Alex all too well, but, unlike him, she could be patient at times.

"I mean, I KNOW alot of things have been happening around here lately but can't I ever catch a break?" Gia rolled her eyes, smiling. She picked up a bigger hoop and examined it as Alex continued. "Gia, you're wonderful and all but I can't just think straight with distractions here and there and we both have all the time in the world but-"

"Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"Shutup?" the lion squeaked but kept his mouth closed. Looking quite upset, did Gia even care about their kiss? Suddenly, he found himself being turned around to face a smiling Gia. "You are a weird _gato, _Alex. It just makes you even more special" she commented lightly. Alex looked to his sides then back at Gia. Was she- "Shhh" she said, pressing her paws on his lips. "We don't need to talk for this". Alex merely tore himself away from her grip.

"We _can't_ Gia! No matter how much we try, we-" a hoop was thrown around his head, landing on his neck. Gia smile widened and she held the hoop in a firm grip, then pulled. Causing Alex to trip slightly and almost bump into her. Gia smiled and then leaned in.

"ALEX!" she heard someone call. Alex frowned once again. Oh for the love of- and Marty, Melman and Gloria appeared, looking pretty rushed. Marty looked at the two and smiled devilishly. "Oh, did we interrupt something?" he asked innocently. Alex growled.

"Why you-"

"No, you didn't" Gia interrupted, looking at Alex. Marty grinned and nodded. Alex merely stuttered while looking at them then her. "We can continue our conversation later, Alex. Just go" Gia demanded and removed the hoop from his neck. She watched as Alex trailed slowly behind his friends, and he suddenly turned, mouthing: _I told you so_. She had the grace to shrug and wink at him. She mouthed as well: _Next time?_ But Alex shrugged as well and kept walking and not once did he turn back.

Gia sighed and practiced another session of her routine, she was determined to kiss Alex, one way or another- she'd kiss him. Wow. That sounded despertae! She giggled to herself and swiveled her hips a bit, making her dacne seem both exotic and seductive. She smiled ot herself. Alex would be so proud of her!

**0O0**

**I believe this is smaller than my other Chapters O_O Forgive me, but it's late, just ate What-A-Burger and feeling a bit drowsy. It's like, 11:37 PM over here and I just wanna plop down but I don't feel tired. Don'cha hate that?**

**Anyways, hope you guys are happy with continually reading this. There is ALWAYS a new chapter each day XD Should I slow down submitions? *Shrugs* But the thing that's ticking me off is that I need to work on THREE other fics right now and I'm spending all my time on this one. I think it's not fair because I'm losing my DBZ vibe O_O That has NEVER happened so the submitions might be a bit slow 'cause I'm working on the planner for my other fics here. **

**The main one is called _Tears And Malice _and I REALLY want to start working on that, since I've announced it over a month ago on my DA account and I just wanted to get it started this summer. So Madagascar ficcy does not go bye bye bye. *OMG! N'SYNC! SHOT* But, then again, maybe not. It all depends on my mood, which I hate because my mood's a lazy arse that can't feel right. Why did God have to give me such a lazy mood all the time XD**

**Can't he improve my writing skills? Or my artistic ones! I wanna draw some Madagascar art DAMMIT! Oh, here I am, ranting. You guys must be wondering why you are reading this in the first place, so, cha! I shall be gone! And I MAY not put any up tomorrow since I need to do more planning and less writing now. Good thing you guys can reread 10 chapters... or 11 XD**


	12. Paranormal Investigation

**Chapter XII - Paranormal Investigation**

The four amigos had arrived a bit too early for Marty's taste, but, then again, he was eager to see the ghost. Melman had been a bit hesitant to point out the _specific _spot where he had seen the ghost. But Marty couldn't blame him too harshly for it, the giraffe only cared about Gloria's sefty but she reassured him that she could take a ghost on. The others believed her, but Melman wouldn't take any chances.

They arrived on a tiny hill, with lots of eatable grass that made Marty's mouth water. He just had his dinner but a snack wouldn't hurt, right? He bent down to take some but was stopped by Alex.

"You brought us here to see you eat?" the lion questioned. Marty nervously chuckled before coming foward and taking a small microphone out and a recorder. The others stood behind him. Marty had instructed them to do so, in case somehting happened between the Zebra and the ghost.

"Who are you?" the Zebra questioned. After awhile, waiting for a good amount of time for a ghost to respond he asked again, "Are you a circus animal?". Still, no answer, but who could hear ghosts? Nothing but the wind and a few bugs. Marty walked to another part of the hill and looked at his friends. "You guys ask. How 'bout you, Ally-al?" the Zebra asked, handing the lion his recorder and microphone.

Alex grunted, and stepped towards his friend, getting ahold of the equipment, htinking for awhile of what to ask, then spoke, "What was responsible for your death?"

"Good question!" Marty piped. Alex shrugged and then handed his friend the recorder. Marty smiled widely and looked at Melman and Gloria. He held them out, "You two wanna try?"

"Yeah!" Gloria smiled, taking the microphone. "What kind of Circus were you a part of, if you were an animal?" she asked. Marty nodded, then looked at Melman. The poor guy was shaking. He took the microphone, poked it to see if it was working, then spoke into it.

"Don't haunt me, please"

"Melman!" Gloria exclaimed. Marty merely chuckled, and Alex smirked at Melman's request. Marty then concluded about asking whatever it was some questions about it's history, why he/she was killed, and how. When they went down the hill, close to where their Circus was form afar, Marty went over their evidence. Hoping to get some evidence to rub it into Alex's furry face, he removed the audiotape from the recorder and inserted it into the cassette player.

Nothing. No voice, no noise, not even a whisper, no anything. It was as if there asn't any ghost to be found. Marty's excited visage dropped. They had caught nothing. Alex stood behind him, smiling. He couldn't help it, he just bested Marty in a bet. Now the Zebra was his slave for the whole competition. Ha! Marty sighed.

"Maybe it just didn't-"

"Nah ah ah" Alex said, wagging a paw in front of his face, "We made a bet, and there's no ghost; you lost big time dude" Marty didn't want to accept it. He looked towards Melman, his eyes begging. There's just couldn't be no ghost!

"But you saw somehting, didn't you?" Melman nodded. Marty looked back at Alex. "Well if it wasn't a ghost, then what do you think Melman saw?" the lion shrugged. He did not have an answer, but there was certainly no ghost.

"Marty. There is _no _ghost!" Alex said. Marty was about to protest when his eyes diluted into slits, looking past Alex's shoulder- no, on the hill... it couldn't be... could it? Alex frowned at his friend and waved a paw in front. Watching where his pal's eyes focused at, Alex turned, and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He wanted to screech. Melman and Gloria did the same and both of their mouths hung open.

At that same hill, the sky had gotten darker, but they could see a hwite figure atop of it, only, this time, it wasn't alone. A black figure stood next to it, arms crossed, and the white figure beckoned it's head towards them. The four gasped. The figure turned it's head, two, evil red eyes stared at them through their core from afar. It got cold really quick. Alex turned to the others.

"DUDE, RUN!" he screamed and then ran towards the Circus, with Melman screaming at the top of his lungs and running close behind the lion. Gloria looked at the two and ran after them,

"GUYS!" she called. Marty merely stood there and watched the two figures, and watched how they shrank back into the hill. He then saw them travel into the neighbooring Circus tent. The ball in his throat did not disappear unil he remembered how to swallow. His throat went completey dry and he had not noticed. He ran after the figures to the Circus, he had to find out more. Why did they enter? Were they after someone? He had to warn _someone_. He completely failed to noticed Gloria holding both Alex and Melman who tried to fight their way out of her grasp but Gloria was at least ten times stronger than them both, she was a tight gripper.

"Marty!" she called as she spotted the Zebra running towards the other Circus. She did not see where the figures had gone off. Why was he going over there? Marty kept on running, he would not turn to her calls, or to Alex and Melman's cries. Finally, he was right at the entrance the two figures, he hestitated at first but then found his courage and entered.

"H-hello?" he asked, fully entering the tent. The lights were off, which made it harder to see but it made no difference with a ghost and its- its- _demon_ friend. "Hello?" he called again. He heard a rough snarl and turned to face a figure engulfed in a black shadow.

"Vhat you vant?" he heard her speak. "Better speak quick, Zebra. I don't like intruders. And I am hungry, too" Marty stood still. Gloria appeared with Alex and Melman, gasping for breath and a tighter grip. She spotted Marty, and was about to ask him what they were doing until she spotted the figure. She kept quiet.

"Th-these are my friends. We just saw someone, well, _something _come in the tent and we wanted to find out who it was" the figure stood quiet, probably eyeing them all before replying.

"Vhat did you see?" Marty gulped.

"We saw-"

"A ghost!" Melman answered, trying to free himself from his girlfriend's grip. Alex answered next.

"And a demon!" the figure shook, before reaching it's hand out on a lever and pulling it upwards. The lights flickered on, revealing a black feline with scorching red eyes.

"Is _that _vhat you think ve are!" she spat angrily. "Lucky I am in good mood tonight. I kill you quickly!". Marty blinked and shook his head.

"What, what?" he asked. The feline snorted and spat towards her side.

"Ve are Freak show circus. I vas outside with comrade, said she heard someone scream" Melman blushed sheepishly. "Vanted to see for self. Saw you four. Two of you screamed and ran, like little girl" Alex joined Melman's in this blushing parade. "Ve are different. All of us... vell, most. Ve only stay in place, do tricks, and if not right trick, ve are unfed. Ve fed until do right trick" she explained, her arms crossed. Alex and Melman had gotten off Gloria by then, the two coming foward to hear what this strange feline said as well as Gloria.

Marty was in his own trian of thoughts. If _she _was the _demon_, then who was the-

"Ghost" he said quietly, enough for not any of his friends to hear. If she was here, that must mean the other was close by. He retreated behind a few crates, he went unnoticed by his friends and by the feline and he ventured through the crates. He found himself surrounded by cages filled with different animals. An albino Burmese python held her head up and hissed.

"Intruder. We have a vissssitor" she smiled, likcking her forked tongue across her scaly lips. Marty ignored her, he was deathly scared of snakes, and she seemed a little too- creepy. He saw sights of two-headed animals, sleeping or growling in distaste. He caught a look of a lion with an extra limb on his left arm, a little paw poking out, his mane stripped, looking a bit torn off by force, skin showing. It was a good thing he was asleep. Many otehr creatures he saw that spurned his imagination as well as nightmares. He never thought animals like that could be possible.

Finally, he spotted an animal out of it's cage that could be his possible suspect of the ghost. It had four hooves, a kind of pale hide, and a very pale brown-colored stripes down it's back. It had a mohawk thing going on with it's hide. As Marty ventured closer, he paused. Could this be a- yes. It was. The animal held it's head in trough, chomping and drinking from it. It looked as if he or she had not heard him yet. He walked almost a bit too closely to it.

"Hey" he greeted. The animal jumped and turned. It was a she. Her eyelashed were long, her eyes were shiny and oval-shaped, she had a fringe down her forehead. She was absolutely stunning. "Wow" he spoke. The Zebra furrowed her brows.

"W-who are you? What are you doing here? Why did you 'wow' at me? Get out!" she hissed, lookign terrified. Marty held his hoof up.

"Oh, no, I didn't mean to hurt you, I just came with a few friends, talking to your black-kitty friend back there to find out what we saw at- hey, were you out at that hill near Zaragoza last night?"

"Yes" she replied hastily, eyeing him suspiciously. Marty grinned.

"So it was you! You're the ghost!" the female looked offended.

"I am most certainly _not _a ghost!" she cried. Marty's face fell.

"No no, it's just we though you were a ghost from afar, and-"

"Don't lie to me!" she exclaimed, turning to leave, "You just saw me and thought I was the ugliest animals ever! JUST LEAVE!" she cried before running away. Marty wanted to go after her until he heard Alex call him.

"Marty! Get ove here! We're _leaving_" Marty understood Alex was in his "mood" and decided he would meet with her the next possible moment and make things right with this female. He had unknowingly offended her and he can't just let her hate him for how stupid he sounded. He snook his way through the crates and cages once more. And again greeted by the albino snake.

"Ah, don't leave, friend" she smiled. "We're jusssssst getting to know you" and he was out. Alex, Gloria, and Melman were already waiting for him at the exit, the black feline was no where to be found. As they had gotten out, Alex gave Marty a harsh look. Marty stared at him innocently.

"It wasn't _that_ bad was it?" Alex looked towards the Circus, the sky already a dark blue.

"Her name's Natasha, reportedly the only black Tigress in the world, born in the Moscow Zoo, stolen by a thief, sold of to the Freak Show Circus, lived here ever since" he merely replied. "She reminded me alot of Vitaly" he added. For the rest of the walk, neither friends said nothing. What a night, what a night.

**0O0**

**Admit it, did you guys really think it was a ghost this time? *Giggles* It's just Natasha and *BLANK* X3 Ya gotta wait for the next Chapter to find out more! And I have to admit you don't see any more of our ghostie until maybe after Chapter 17. So it's gonna be awhile. Every few days or so I may not completely update regularly as I did the 1st 10 Chapters. Mostly because I have a DA account and I need to finish sketches and work on my other fic to get some DBZ in my blood system again. Good thing I might use this all day tomorrow. The bulk may be on DA but the other will certainly be working on the next few Chapters. **

**So I hope you guys enjoyed this. For an extra bonus to see how the investigation would work, I saw _The Haunted _on _Animal Planet_ today. _Demon House_. Very scary. Still, hope you guys get a little joke here. And it is NOT from _The Hainted_, but it IS from another ghost-related show. Guess it right and you win a virtual cookie. And NO funkywatermelon, you cannot guess, you know it and that would be cheating *giggle***

**Have fun!**


	13. Angel From Above

**Chapter XIII - Angel From Above **

There were only two days left until the big show at _"The Arena"_as the penguins called animals put blood, sweat and tears into their acts and mashed them up together completely to create what was an amazing effect, to them. Marty wasn't too keen to get into the cannon today, though. He was too caught up in remembering the reaction the albino Zebra had given him when she mistook him calling her a ghost. He didn't mean to hurt her feelings, however he did, he just meant to clarify what both he and the others saw from afar.

The others had explained about the ghost and the supposed "demon" to everyone the next morning, revealing that it was merely the black tigress, Natasha. Though that was partly true, it was really the albino Zebra that was the supposed ghost that Melman had seen, but Marty did not feel like revealing that bit of information to the others. That meant he would have to explain HOW he knew that, and he did not feel like telling Alex that he royally messed up on a first imimpression. He could just imagine the lion looking smugly at him and saying now: _'Smooth, Marty. REAL smooth! So when's the next date? Which reminds me of our bet.'_

Marty snorted loudly, unknowingly making Stefano jump a few feet in the air. "Mama Mia!" he exclaimed loudly before realizing it was only the Zebra. "Oh! It was-a only-a you, Marty!" the sea lion exclaimed smiling widely.

"Sorry, Stefano. I didn't mean to-"

"It's-a alright!" the sea lion piped, "I-a need to get the-a blood-a pumping, no?" Marty smiled before nodding in agreement with his friend.

"Right-o!"

The two animals boarded their cannons, ready for action. Their act had been redefined to a more child-like sort of play: They were still exploding out into the air but with colorful balloons to give to the kids in their seats and, for an added bonus, they would use a colorful parachute to land safely down at the end. He never knew how the penguins managed to do so but, with them, anything was possible. Marty thought it was a cool idea but how in the world were they going to even know how to shoot balloons out of the air with them as well? The penguins solved that problem quickly and efficiently! They had secretly created a _"Balloon Shooter"_,thanks to Kowalski, that was attached to the cannon and, in case it caught on fire, didn't work and/or couldn't be removed during a meltdown, they made a exit out the back of the cannon where he and Stefano could easily slip through, unharmed. It could come in handy, Skipper said. Marty, with his many experiences shared with the four penguins, DID believe him at that.

"Alright, Kowalski" Skipper said loudly, turning to his comrade. "We've got this cannon ready to fire! Do we have any matches to blow this thing away!" Kowalski looked at his board then back at his superior.

"Permission to speak, sir"

"Permission granted"

"We ran out of our last matches a few days ago under unknown circumstances" Skipper grunted, not noticing Rico burp, and accidentally spitting out what was left of a half-digested match. The crazed penguin rubbed his stomach happily.

"Rags! We need to find new ones- pronto! Rico!" the crazed penguin laughed crazily and soon he was gone. Stefano fidgeted a little in his cannon and smiled at Marty on the other cannon. The sea lion waved happily and Marty returned it with another wave of his hoof.

"Heya Jonesy! That ain't fair, mate!" Freddie yelled as he ran after his canine partner. Jonesy huffed impatiently, walking away with his rocket-powered skates. Stefano looked at the dancing dogs to see that Jonesy, the Bernese mountain dog, was in his regular suit that the dogs usually wore during a regular show. The others had different ones on, colorful and spontaneous as always, but none of them were wearing skates.

"Mate, ya gotta take 'em off. Our act won' involve them skates!" Freddie yelled again. Jonesy merely huffed once more and walked on. "Jonesy!" Freddie called again, this time, Jonesy turned.

"There ain't no way ah'm gonna give up this act, mate! Nevah!" he exclaimed. Hitting his chest with his paw to signify how he felt. Freddie and the others sighed. Stefano became nervous. Sure, the dogs fought before, and now that the Circus was better than ever, they did rarely fight with paws and teeth. The thing that bothered Stefano was that one of them was going to get hurt if this turned out to be one of those nasty fights.

"Jonesy-"

"No way, mate! I ain't doin' it!" Freddie growled and took a big step toward his doggy companion.

"Sorry, mate. We know ya love this act, but we've gotta practice the new one!" still, Jonesy shook his head.

"No!"

"J-"

"NO!"

"Jonesy- Do it or I will MAKE you do it!" Jonesy stared at his friend for awhile. Stefano held in his breath. When were those penguins going to find a match!

"You can try" Jonesy finally replied, then tackled Freddie. "But ya won' get th' chance!" and soon all the dogs joined in. Stefano gasped and called out to them.

"Don't-a fight! Don't-a fight!" he exclaimed worriedly. He failed to notice Freddie and Jonesy suddenly coming closer to the cannon until they bumped into it_ (it was also quite a big push) _causing the cannon to retract from it's angle to a much more acute sense of direction. He yelped at the sudden jerk back, shaking terribly in the cannon. Then, the penguins had finally arrived, returning with a match and no knowledge of what had just happened.

"Alright, Rico-" Skipper announced, smiling widely. "LAUNCH!" Stefano's eyes widened and before he could turn back- the match was lightened and the cannon was ready to fire.

"WAIT!"

_BAM!_

And he was shot in the air. Stefano yelled as loudly as he could to draw some attention, the others would hopefully react quickly enough to send someone after him. Unlike in the Alps, where he would grab ahold of a ledge of a rock and hang on until someone went to get him, he would be a splat on the ground, and not a pretty one he might want to add. He was too young to die! He hadn't even had a first kiss yet! He closed his eyes painfully tight, hoping that his death would be quick.

The air went through him violently and blurringly, Stefano finally felt himself going downwards in the air and soon it would be goodbye life as it is and was. He tried to fight the urge to open his eyes so he merely covered them with his flippers. Well, at least he had lived a good-enough life. He'll miss Gia, Vitaly and Alex as well as the others. Oh he would miss all of his friends dearly. He just wished-

_RIIIIIIIP! _

He landed on a piece of bright pink cloth which had almost broken his fall. Almost because it ripped when it could not hold his sudden weight and sent him crashing down onto the hard earth below, but much more slower and less painful. Was he still alive? He did not want to find out if he wasn't. Pain ripped through his body and he had to hold back the urge to laugh happily. Pain meant he was alive! Oh what a great day to live again! Wait, he WAS alive, right?

He moved his left flipper, unknowingly creating a shockwave throughout the area around his arm, making him flinch slightly in pain. Had he broken his flipper? He moved the other one slightly, wanting to see if it had the same effect. Sore and all, but still moveable and functional. Thank the heavens! He tried to shake his head to clear his sight but that wound up giving him a bad headache.

"Ow-a" he groaned, holding his head with his good flipper. He suddenly found himself being picked up, and turned around. The sudden flash of sunlight burned his eyes for awhile, giving him spots, before they focused enough to see a Sea lioness in view.

He gasped.

She looked so very pretty; a nice pink necklace decorated her elegantly small neck, with nice curvy eyelashes and crystal-like eyes defining her exterior with small lips. He gawped.

"Saints above-a, did you-a send me an angel to-a pick-a me up?" he whispered dreamily. The Sea Lioness giggled and patted his head slightly, making him flinch in shock. So he _wasn't_ dead? _Mama Mia_.

"Oh no, I am just Catalina, the Sea Lioness" she corrected, still giggling. Stefano had the grace to blush heavily. The lioness tilted her head slightly and furrowed her elegant, curvy brow. "Oooh" she said, making a face. "Your fin may be broken! You poor thing" she patted his head again. Stefano shook his head, earning him another headache, to rid of the shock and got up with difficulty.

"W-where am I-a?" he asked. The lioness smiled and extended her own glossy fin towards a pink Circus tent.

"You landed on the circus grounds of_ Circa de Flora_. We are a Mexican-American circus. I am from California!" she piped smiling warmly at Stefano. He smiled at her and during his trance realized he had not yet introduced himself.

"Oh-a silly me-a!" he exclaimed, taking her fin. "I am-a Stefano the Sea Lion from _Circo Zaragoza_!" he kissed her flipper which made both Sea Lions flush scarlet. Catalina giggled again.

"STEFANO!" he heard a familiar voice call out to him. The Sea Lion turned his head to spot a familiar Zebra running towards him with someone, or something, on his back. "Stefano! There you are! Thank goodness we-" and Marty spotted him in the care of Catalina.

Marty was in real shock, he didn't think that Stefano would make it in once piece, much less be accompanied by someone of his own species. He smirked and eyed Stefano. Oh that _smooooth_guy! But Stefano failed to notice the look Marty gave him, he was too entranced by the pretty lioness holding him, who fixed her attention on Marty, looking quite surprised.

"Oh! Who's this?" she asked curiously, eyeing Marty somewhat wearily. Stefano jerked his unbroken fin to Marty and smiled.

"Oh! That's-a me _amigo_, Marty!" he exclaimed. "Marty! You-a came to-a search for me-a! This is-a Catalina!" he introduced the pair to each other and Marty bowed.

"Martin, but call me Marty. Pleased to meet you!" the black with white striped Zebra greeted happily, extending a hoof to shake. Catalina smiled, shook Marty's hoof and tried to help Stefano up.

"Catalina, but you can call be Cata, or Lina, or Cat!" she smiled and noticed the black and white figures on Marty's back: The Penguins. "Are they-?"

"Penguins? Yeah. They're our security guys"

"And trained assassins! But don't worry, doll, we couldn't hurt a lady even if we tried" Skipper added as he slid off of Marty's back. He walked towards Stefano and analyzed him carefully.

"His flipper may be broken and his other flipper strained. He had a nasty fall" she infromed him.

"I can imagine" Skipper said, eyeing Stefano. "Boys! We're gonna need a stretcher!"

"But sir!" Kowalski said, sliding towards his superior. "We never bought a stretcher with us. The last one we had we had to use for Private's bed in our Car!"

"And it is very comfy too!" Private exclaimed happily, clapping his flippers together excitedly. Skipper frowned.

"Rags!" he turned to Catalina, "Listen, Cat, would you have any spare stretchers we can borrow for Flippers, here?" the lioness pondered before smiling.

"Well, we may, but I'm not-"

"Catalina! Why are you associating with low beings like them!" someone called from behind her. Everyone looked past Catalina to see a huge Sea Lion, maybe twice Stefano's size and weight, coming towards them, wearing a huge frown on his face. Stefano gulped. Was this her- _mate_? Catalina sighed and turned to the bigger Sea Lion.

"I am just helping on of their comrades, Bruno. He fell out of the sky and they came to see if he was alright" The bigger Sea Lion, Bruno, sniffed angrily then scowled when he saw Stefano. _Competition_. He did _not _like competition. Either for the Circus itself or Catalina, it was still the same.

"Well! They're here! Why aren't they gone!" Skipper looked smugly at the big macho lion.

"We'll get outta here soon, big guy, when we find a stretcher to send our poor friend here back to our own Circus to see our doctor" Catalina's ears perked up.

"You have a doctor?" she asked, astounded by the news. Skipper raised an eyebrow as did everyone else. Stefano smiled sheepishly.

"Yes-a! He's a very professional doctor-a!" Catalina looked at Bruno.

"Bruno! They have a doctor!" Bruno snorted.

"So what?"

"Uh, he's a Giraffe, but don't worry, Melman is the best as they come!" Marty exclaimed proudly. Bruno scowled then eyed Stefano wearily before crossing his flippers.

"Catalina, get the stretcher, then they go!" Catalina pouted.

"No! You go! I need to make sure Stefano is well enough to walk. Bruno stared at her incredulously.

"But, Catalina, you're my _girlfriend_! I don't trust you in the likes of _them_!" Bruno said, pointing an accused finger on the others, mainly Stefano. The sea lion paled. So... she had a mate already. Catalina sighed and shook her head.

"For the last time, Bruno: We are only FRIENDS, not mates. I just want to remain friends, ok?" Bruno growled before waddling away grumpily. Catalina gave the others a apologetic look, "Sorry you had to hear that. Bruno becomes very over protected when I'm around"

Stefano had to hold in a laugh. She was not taken! Yay! He grinned widely, hoping the others would not catch it and take it as a bad sign.

"So you are-a not his-a mate? I-a thought-"

"Well, he likes me. A lot, apparently, but I only see him as a friend. I do want to settle down but Bruno is so-" before she could explain more to her new friends, Bruno appeared holding a long piece of cloth with two long staffs at the end. He threw it in front of the others.

"Go" he demanded and the Penguins, as well as Marty and Catalina, helped Stefano onto the cloth. The small lion found it surprisingly comfy and warm despite how much his body hurt. Catalina patted his head smiling.

"I hope we can see each other again, Stefano, Marty, Penguins" she nodded her head. Bruno growled lowly when he caught Stefano staring at Catalina as she shook hands with the former. As they left, Catalina sighed. "They are a good bunch. Very nice. And Stefano is such a gentleman!" she exclaimed and caught the look of annoyance and jealousy in Bruno's eyes. Sneakily, she added, "And his accent is the cutest!" before trotting off, ignoring the raging look in his eyes.

Bruno gritted his teeth. There was _NO_ way a smaller and less macho like Stefano was going to take Catalina away from him- _EVER! _He was going to have to make sure of that, and for good! With a huff, he left towards his Circus tent with one thing and one thing only on his mind: Getting rid of Stefano.

**0O0**

**Finally, after nine LONG days (No seriously, it felt like forever for me) a new Chapter is up! Sadly there may not be a new Chapter until tonight or a few more days since someone in my family is paranoid and won't clear up his softwares -_-**

**I hope you enjoy Catalina and jealous Bruno here, I tried my best on them! Stefano already has a enemy X3 I know that is bad but it creates more DRAMA! I belive this may be one of my longest fics but I think it is rubbish because I think this is short. I need to make mine bigger then XD**

**I am SO sorry for those who had waited SO long for the next Chapter. But from now on, Chpaters will take a few days since I think overusing it had a hand in crashing the computer. So my sister won't use it anymore since it was mainly her using it all the time XD**


	14. Auxiliary

**Chapter XIV - Auxiliary**

One day. Just one more day and that was it. She couldn't help but wonder how quick time had passed since they had gotten there. Already the whole Circus was completely ready, well, not completely per say. There were still some things that needed to be patched up but Gia figured that they would get it fixed by this time tomorrow. But she had to admit, she felt really nervous about the first round. As if that wasn't enough, Stefano had broken a flipper and sprained his other. His act may be completely useless now but he was determined to get by. That brave, crazy, sea lion. He never gave up.

Gia smiled as she saw her friend waddle happily through the circus grounds towards his cannon. He had suddenly given it a nickname that she did not understand. He had named it after a flower: _Cattleya_. She had wondered why at first, but when she questioned him he would blush and say something to change the discussion. With Marty just around the corner and smirking at the Sea Lion, it only made her even more curious as to why. How come Marty knew?

Well, there were more important things to worry about than Stefano's sudden interest in a flower, when she practiced her dance with Alex she had realized something all too late: the finishing act. Once they had done their dancing, well, there lay the problem. Exactly how should they end their dance? A few flips in the air? Not likely. This dance was spontaneous in itself and so it deserved something spontaneous to go along with it to make it truly spectacular! But what? She pondered this as she twisted her hip again to the beat. Her body now knew the exact steps exactly and she no longer needed Alex to help her or guide her. She was a fast learner, and Alex liked that about her.

She had not completely laughed at him when he showed her the rest of the moves, just like she never satirized him when he first "taught" her how to do Trapeze Americano. He liked the way she found comfort and fun in anything. She was a sweet girl but she was also tough as nails when needed be. She was also good at making others feel guilty when they've done something wrong. He would know, he was one of her victims not too long ago. Just then she stopped dancing altogether, making him bump into her when he slid to his side, and making both fall onto the ground. Gia laughed as Alex yelped loudly and landed on top of her.

"Why did you stop dancing?" he asked. Gia shrugged.

"I was just wondering about some things" Alex turned his head slightly to his side.

"About what exactly?" Gia smiled.

"Our act. How are we going to do the finish? We've worked hard on this routine to make it top-a-notch but what can we do to make it _truly_amazing?" Alex looked into her eyes. She was a true circus animal. Her gold eyes showed how she liked to make every act it's best and make sure that the others themselves enjoyed doing it. She loved doing the Trapeze and dancing with him. And that was when it hit him. Why not put two things that they liked to do in one? He pointed towards the already set-up equipment fro the Trapeze.

"Our finish can be on the trapeze" Gia stared at him then at the equipment, all set and ready to go. A smiled formed on her face, then, caught off guard, hugged him with force Alex never knew she had. They toppled over, laughing as their position got even more uncomfortable but Alex did not mind, he preferred it that way.

"Alex you are a genius! That is a brilliant idea!" Alex flushed.

"I-it was nothing, Gia. Really, we can just combine them both to create the spark you want"

"And I did not come up with it, you did! Which makes it double brilliant!" Gia piped. Alex's blush deepened on his skin under his fur. He coughed nervously and got up, helping Gia along the way.

"No it doesn't, it just makes it unique" he replied, shaking the dirt off of his glossy coat. She smiled up at him. He was a cocky guy but she liked that he was a sugary coat of sweetness under all that conditioner. As the lion turned his head, she leaned over to kiss him on the lips until he stepped away from her, unaware of the kiss she was going to give him, and accidentally tripping on a hoop on the ground. He hit face first on the ground. When Gia found it weird she was not kissing Alex yet, she opened her eyes and gasped to see him on the ground.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, bending down to grab his arm and pull him up. Alex fidgeted a little on the ground.

"Mm hmm" she heard him grumble. Gia sighed. Were they cursed? Alex then got up quickly and wiggled his nose.

"Sorry, lost my footing there" he said, getting more dirt out of his fur. "We should practice that Trapeze finale, huh?" Gia nodded grimly, walking behind Alex.

0O0

Okay, Melman was used to dancing on the tightrope enough to try new things bit by bit, but nothing prepared him for what Gloria had in store. She wanted to do a mini-ballet show on the tightrope during the show to hopefully gain some favoritism between the girl audiences. She thought it was cute and, since Melman was there to help her, possible. Melman, however, had other plans. He was actually hoping they could do the same thing they did as always, just dancing however they liked. Whether it was Salsa or Slow dancing, he would rather keep it that way.

How in the world were they going to do a ballet on a tightrope? Sure, Gloria looked cute in a tutu, but that did not necessarily mean she could dance like a ballerina. Though being him, he would never tell her that. he had too much on his mind right then and there. Gloria twirled and smiled as they walked over to the tightrope already held high off the ground. She suddenly stopped and gasped. She turned to Melman, worry filled her eyes and Melman became overwhelmed. What was wrong?

"Melman! My tutu! I left it in my car! You think think you can wait for me here while I get it?" she asked. Melman shook his head.

"No, I'll get it for you, honey. You don't have to tire yourself" he kissed her cheek and Gloria flushed.

"Aww, sweeite-"

"I insist" Melman smiled and started to walk away. Gloria sighed and twirled in her place.

"Well, I'll practice here until you come back! Give me the pink one! I think it looks better on me!" Melman turned and smiled at his girl.

"Anything looks better on you, honey" he could hear Gloria's delightful laughter from afar and sighed as he neared her car. He slid the door open and took a good look inside. Soon, he found the tutu on the other end and reached for it with his mouth. As he caught the soft fabric, he noticed a few pictures of her and him on her wall. He looked closer to see that Gloria had at least one picture of everyone on her wall, mostly him, smiling and having a good time as a Circus. Hey, that's nice! She even had a group picture with everyone and their Circus afro!

He caught a few pictures of Alex and Gia giving the camera person a thumbs up, Marty painted white with polka dots and his colorful Afro along with Stefano who was painted exactly like Marty. Vitaly had an Afro on as well bu he looked a bit annoyed waering it. He was smiling since Gia and Stefano were making silly faces. Melman smiled. It touched his heart the way the other Circus animals touched all of the as a whole. Then he caught a picture she took of herself wearing her Orchid necklace he had found for her (Or rather bought) thanks to the money from the humans.

He sighed. He wished he could give Gloria more than him. She deserved a happy life with kids and a ring around her finger. He stared at a picture of a happy Gloria with her arms around his neck. He sighed again.

"Oh Gloria. I know you needed to give up alot for me. I know you had to give up two of your biggest dreams to be with me. I swear I will give you the wedding ring you've always wanted, and I'll make sure of it... but how will I?"

"You need to make a woman happy and make her feel like- a woman!" he heard someone say behind him. Melman jumped. He had not expected for someone to hear him, much less follow or do whatever they were doing. As he turned his neck he saw Julien looking, or rather admiring, himself in the mirror. He fluttered his eyes and combed his puffy tail.

"Yes, any woman would me lucky to have me- er, you" Melman raised an eyebrow. He knew it was useless to get any romantic advice from Julien but he did have a girlfriend, and Sonya looked as happy as ever.

"Do you have any advice for me?" the giraffe asked. Julien smiled and bowed.

"I am the god of love! Of course I can help you with your predicament!" Julien climbed up Melman's leg and patted his neck after he had settled on his back. "Do you love this woman?" he asked. Melman nodded ferociously.

"Oh yes! Gloria is the diamond to my safe, she is the sun in my sky, she is the twinkle in my eye, she is the light in the dark- she deserves EVERY right to be happy!" Julien stared at the giraffe before smiling.

"There is your answer! Say that to her and you don't need to marry her in order to be one!" Julien eyed Melman in a crazed, but knowingly sort of way. Melman did not understand at first before blushing terribly.

"Oh! I don't mean- I DO want to marry her, I just want to know HOW!" the lemur piped up.

"Oh! Why didn't you say so?" he exclaimed, sliding down his neck and took a good look at the pictures. "Well propose with somehting she likes?"

"Like how!"

"Like a tutu?" Julien answered, pointing to the nice fabric in Melman's mouth. Melman suddenly gasped and ran out of the car.

"GLORIA! I forgot her tutu!" and the giraffe ran off. Julien smiled and waved at the giraffe as he ran.

"Go get her, my tall friend! I'm sure she'll love it! I expect you to give her a PURE GOLD Crown!"

**0O0**

**Yes, Melman is thinking of proposing! :D Yayziez! Go Melman! Do as Julien says and propose with that tutu! :3 And poor Alex and Gia, this time, Alex has no one to blam but himself! XD And he doesn't even KNOW! ROFL! Well, hopefully a few more Chapters since I'm on a roll now! XD**


	15. Circus

**Chapter XV - Circus**

This was it. The morning of the actual showdown. Everyone was too nervous to sleep and things got a little out of control when morning came. When the sun was high up in the sky, the REAL show would begin. Vitaly wondered how the other Circus animals would do, more importantly theirs. He knew it was quite a feat getting some ideas for this _'Field Trip' _theme. Personally, Vitaly did not like this theme. He was planning to do the same as usual, jump through the hoop but the finishing for his act would be not as everyone had expected.

He relaxed in his car, which he shouldn't be doing. He should be helping everyone get their equipment to the big tent, but he couldn't help himself. He always hung out in his car before a show. For while, everyone but him painted themselves to add some effect in their acts as they performed. Vitaly preferred not to, but he would make an exception this time. From all of the paint he could choose and color himself with, he chose gold.

The reason was simple: It was an attractive color, true, but the gold would reflect heavily on his fur as he went through the hoop on fire, it would almost give the effect that he _was_ on fire. He had finished painting his stripes thick with the color and, pleased with the look, cam out of his car, expressing either regret or joy at what he was about to do.

0O0

They were the first to go. The sun was already high up in the sky and _they _were the first ones to go. Oh the bad luck to be first. But one of the reasons was because they wer the smallest. Smallest went first, as the humans liked to keep their acts organized. Rubbish! He took in a deep breath before looking at the others. They were all nervous, worried, excited, pumped, it just made his own heart pump out of his skin. He was nervous but he would not admit it. he was a tiger. A tiger _never _feels overwhelmed by anything that cam ein it's way.

He puffed out his chest and went through the curtain.

0O0

The penguins looked at each other then at Rico who smiled widely and spat out a disc from his mouth. Skipper grinned widely and extended a black flipper. "Private! Kowalski! Rico! Excuse my vulgar, urban language but let's get this Circus-a-flowin'!" and he insterted the CD into the Stereo.

0O0

Vitaly took a deeep breath, looked straight in front of him, eyeing the ring and only the ring. "Stefano! Light on fire!" he commanded, the small Sea Lion waddled foward and, using a match, ignited the small ring. And he waddled back. Vitaly looked at it even more closely, ignoring the cheering of the crowd, the whispers in his head turned silent. he only heard his heart beat. And he raced foward.

_There's only two types of people in the world.  
The ones that entertain, and the ones that observe._

As he got through and landed perfectly on the ground, the crowd started to cheer. He smirked widely.

_Well baby I'm a put-on-a-show kind of girl  
Don' like the back seat, gotta be first_

He took out his juggling balls from inside his small pocket on his wristbands, and threw them up in the air. He smiled and blew the ring on fire, before taking the staff off the ground.

_I'm like the ringleader, I call the shots (Call the shots)  
I'm like them fire cracker, I make it hot when I put on a show_

Indeed. he smiled as he used the staff to hit the balls towards the audience in three different, exact directions, which exploded into confetti in the air, making the children gasp. Why juggle? His smirk grew.

_I feel the adrenaline moving through my veins  
Spotlight on me and I'm ready to break_

He twirled the staff in his paws, left and right, and then aimed right at the cieling. He smiled, when the cieling started to light up, spreading around the whole Arena, and making outlines of different animals onto the crowd.

_All eyes on me in the center of the ring just like a CIRCUS!_

Yeah. Just like a Circus.

0O0

The show went more smoothly than it ever could ahve been. The dogs used trampelines and jumped form corner to corner of the Arena; Melman and Gloria, wearing her tutu, dancing on the tighropes, doing a ballet, around the perimeter of the whole stadium; The Andalusian triplets, wearing their butterfly wings, did cute little dances, each of them were in complete sync, which made the dance all the more enjoyable to watch; Alex and Gia danced Alex's New York routine which some kids recognized before jumping off of the platform above into the trapeze; Marty and Stefano did their cannon shot into the crowd and landed safely on the ground with their parachutes.

Overall, the performance was amazingly done. The crowd of kids cheered loudly throughout the whole had never been prouder of his Circus than he was now and when he first performed with the Zoosters by their side. The Zaragoza bunch laughed loudly amongst each other and congratulated each and everyone of themselves with a pat on the back or with compliments. The happy moment was only interrupted by rude laughter behind them. Vitaly turned to see other circus animals walking by, superior smirks and grace on their faces. They had no trace of kindess on them. Had they seen their perfomance?

One of them poked his head through the curtain. "Yeah, congratulate yourselves all you want. You can't touch any of us" with that, the animals laughed loudly joined by the others. Vitaly growled while the others stared in silence. They exchanged glances with each other. What did they mean by not touching them? The animals walked towards the curtains, giving them a view of the Arena. What they saw made their jaws drop. Vitaly cursed in deep russian. He hated to admit it but, their show was even _better _than theirs.

0O0

In total, about four Circuses, not including theirs, performed that day. The Circus that came after them was called _Cirque Du Majestico_, and their theme was called "Aquarium". He wasn't sure how exactly that would work but once he saw how the animals and the humans performed together- he saw it. They moved like the ocean, their theme color was blue, and they animals _swam _like the sea creatures.

The next after them was _Circa de Flora_, which made Stefano gulp and pale for some reason. Their theme was "Theatre". He was curious as to how those animals would perform but they managed to pull of a classic theatre feeling with the humans dressed up as people from _Romeo and Juliet _and the animals helped them with many scenes. It was completely amazing, it blew them away.

After them was _Circo Freak_, the circus with the black tigress. They were an odd bunch. Many humans and all of the animals were simply horrible to look at. He never figured that animals could be born the way they were, and while some of the children gasped, they cheered. Cleverly, the humans had chose the theme "Amusement Park" and this was enough amusement to last one a lifetime. Marty seemed a bit too anxious to him, as if he was _looking _for someone.

And then after them came the last and biggest one of them all, _Fantaisie de la Cirque_. And this Circus was better than all of the others. Their theme was "Zoo". And Vitaly finally understood what that damned animal had meant. This was the best of the best, the animals did tricks _with _the humans. Tigers and lions dacned with each other, and they would help the humans do their own tricks, whether it be on the air and ground. Each one of them was focused and were only satisfied with doing only perfection. He saw it in their eyes.

They were too good. And now that all of them had performed, they were only waiting on the results that the crowd gave. They awaited nervously for their calling. He hated it, the suspense. But they would soon find out. As soon as he saw a lone human walk in the middle of the Arena, he already knew their score before he said it.

**0O0**

**Guys, PLEASE understand I have NEVER done anything like this, so forgive me if this sucks in your point of view. I've only been to a Circus ONCE and so my memory of what it was like and what actually happened is VERY faint. And I tried to find some on YouTube, but they were either low quality or just plain showed only an act that never happened.**

**PLEASE critique me on this, I need to tips from anyone that has been to a Circus before, but don't start giving me stuff like "OMGEEZ! DIS SUCKED! BLEH!" I will just ignore you and think of you as a complete retard. And block you! :D**

**But anyways, enjoy, I think. *Sigh* Hopefully my next four ones won't be as sucky as this!**


	16. The Results

**Chapter XVI - The Results**

The humans have made their decision and there was no way any of them could change it, unless they cheated but the Zaragozans refused to stoop to such a low a level as that to get a good amount of points to win the round, much less the whole competition.

They were upset, though. They didn't know why or how, but they knew they've been outranked. The human that had appeared in the middle of the Arena had spoken the results out loud:

"For their amazing stunts and the precise way of working together, as a team, to create one of the most stunning creations these children had ever seen, Round one goes to _Fantaise de la Cirque_" said Circus cheered as did the crowd. The humans from _Fantaisie_applauded and gave each other hugs and pats on the backs. The animals cheered along with them; roars, quacks, whining, and the occasional squeak came from their jowls as they celebrated amongst each other. At least they were not gloating, Vitaly thought.

The announcer raised his gloved hand and smiled, "For their cleverly spinner show and antics, the runner- up goes to _Circo Freak_!" the humans from said Circus also cheered, as did the animals, well, the ones who could. They did not gloat either though there was an occasional smug look. The announcer smiled again.

"For their majestic yet intriguing, and believable performance, third place goes to _Cirque Du Majestico_!" Those jackals! The humans, as well as animals, did gloat to the other remaining Circuses that stood after them. Vitaly snarled when the same animal from before held his head up and smirked: Told us so, his eyes spoke. Vitaly felt like charging at him. How dare he!

Feeling the intensity and suspense, the announcer cleared his throat, signaling all to quiet down and looked back at the thin piece of paper in his palms. He aligned his spectacles and looked at the two remaining Circuses in the arena: _Zaragoza_ and _de Flora_.

"Fourth place goes to-" Vitaly sighed. "_Circa de Flora_". The humans and animals there cheered. They may have been second last but at least they were not LAST last. The announcer looked apologetically over to the distraught Zaragozans. "Last place goes to _Circo Zaragoza_. Though they are last, they have shown to be quite the adversaries and very focused in this competition. I doubt they will be last for long" but even with the human's kind words, the term "last place" had already been embedded deep inside the minds of most of the Circus crew. The animals from the other Circuses laughed at them all the way.

Even as they prepared to leave, some animals from the other Circuses dared to face them and started to taunt them directly. Vitaly growled as the same animal from _Majestico_who insulted them earlier came face to face with them once again, accompanied by other animals from other Circuses.

"So ready to quit now?" the animal asked slyly, smirking, and earning a few loud and obnoxious laughs from the others. Vitaly snarled and came forward as did Gia and Alex. The animal gasped once he caught the sight of Gia. "Ooooh. A dancing jaguar! I am _SO_afraid!" Vitaly saw the pained look on Gia's face, she worked hard on that routine. Alex caught her look as well and the two felines instantly came to her aid.

"APOLOGIZE!" they demanded, baring their teeth. Their rival snorted and looked at the others.

"Oh look, the fluffy tigger and the pansy lion have come to her aid- how sweet" the animal bared his teeth as well. "Watch who you start fights with, I can finish you two with both paws behind my back!" Vitaly couldn't help but smirk,

"THAT can be arranged" he said. Their rival snarled and took a menacing step towards the bigger cat.

"You insult me pussycat!"

"No. I only insult your stupidity. No, I pity you" the animal growled as did some others and they began to circle the Zaragozans.

"Watch it, tigger! Or you'll regret it! And your little friend will be the first to go!" Alex stood protectively in front of Gia and glared at the other animal. He unsheathed his claws, he didn't want to, but he could go crazy-steak-obsessed Alex on them.

"Sabath, shouldn't you be cuddling yourself in your litter box by now, you lunatic?" said a voice behind them. Everyone turned to see a slim Tigress, her arms crossed and a menacing glare on her face. She was accompanied by a few animals, namely an orangutan, a few horses, other lions and tigers; they were ready to go. The leopard merely grinned.

"Oh! Artica! What a pleasant surprise! I haven't-"

"Save it, idiot" a lioness appeared by Artica's side, one that pinged Vitaly's memory faintly. "Just go before I send apprentice to get Safi and others. You don't vant to mess with THEM, do you?" the leopard merely frowned before giving the Zaragozans one more glare before running off in a blur, followed by his animal compadres. The lioness sighed and looked over to the said circus.

"Ve are deeply sorry. They get really nasty with other Circus" the tigress bowed, though unfavorably glared at Gia somewhat.

"And I apologize for not getting him when I had the chance! That skinny son-of-a leopard will get what's comin' to him!" she said, shaking an angry fist. "Anyways. I'm Artica, and this is Rita. She's Russian. Scary, isn't she?" the tigress joked before receiving a smack on the head.

"Respect your elders, tigress!" the lioness snapped. The tiger glared at Rita for awhile before grinning and giving the orangutan next to her a high five. Suddenly Vitaly blinked, remembering this lioness. He remembered her- she used to be in Zaragoza!

"Rita?" he spoke lowly. The tigress blinked at the sound if her name and turned to face the tiger. She studied Vitaly vigorously for a moment before she gasped and was suddenly face-to-face with the tiger.

"Vitaly? VITALY? I-is that you! Is it really you!" she asked him, her eyes widening by the second. The others looked at both Vitaly and the Lioness curiously. Gia frowned. She hated it when Vitaly knew someone she had not. Or at least she THINK she did not know this Rita. She DID seem vaguely familiar. Vitaly grinned from furry chin to chin and crossed his arms.

"Rita! No see you for long time!"

"Ah! It IS you! Oh! So happy to see you again! Last time I saw, you was just a teen!" she grinned. Alex, being himself and greatly confused on how Vitaly could know this lioness, came forward along with Gia who eyed the lioness. Rita turned her head and gasped with joy when she saw the female Jaguar.

"Gia! Little Gia! Ooooh! You grow so much!" she piped. Gia merely stared at her confusingly, unlike Stefano, who gasped and waddled forward.

"_Si_! I remember-a now- Rita! She was-a the last-a lioness in Zaragoza, famous for her-a hoop jumping like-a Vitaly was, only she-a did tricks during her jump-a!" the Sea Lion said, clapping his flippers. The others who were around Stefano and Vitaly's time suddenly knew what Stefano was talking about and greeted their old comrade.

The animals from the other Circus exchanged glances and fidgeted a bit from the weirdness of it all. They knew Rita came from another Circus, but _THIS_ one? It was better they say nothing, it _WAS_Rita they were with, and she alone was capable of doing them over if she was at the least bit offended. This was one of those times most decided to stay quiet.

Rita had stopped her greeting from her old Circus friends and paused when she spotted the others she didn't know. She smiled when she saw Gia standing next to Alex.

"Ah Gia, you found mate?" she asked. The two felines blushed and avoided contact. Gia then stepped foward. She still did not remember who this lioness was.

"I am terribly sorry, but, I don't know who you are" she admitted. Rita frowned a bit before leaning over Gia's ear. She then whispered somehting that caused Gia's ears to perk up, tail wag and fur puff.

"Now I remember! I was too young to remmeber but Rita was the lioness who helped raise me. The humans thought-" she then spotted Vitaly who looked positively perplexed, she decided not to say _her _name outloud. "Well, Rita was a hoop jumper like Vitaly but she was good at helping humans introduce the other animals and do tricks, like I did in my old act. They thought that she would help me" Rita beamed and nodded.

"True. You were jumpy thing. So tiny" she emphasized by making her paw form into a barely see through circle. "Tiny" she repeated. Alex then cam foward, apparently confused.

"Wait, if you didn't know Vitaly, Gia and the others were here, why did you-?" Rita's eyes lit up.

"Oh because boss said so. He don't like friends getting bullied" she revealed. All the animals from Zaragoza, including Vitaly, looked at Alex for an explanation. Even he looked dazed.

"No, I don't remember meeting anyone from your circus" the lioness laughed.

"Oh, he is little cub, but son to our big leader. He is, therefor, heir to the leading act and is my boss" she stepped aside as did the others to reveal a familiar little lion cub: Scruffy, hair tuft and big eyes. Iggy.

"Hi! Saw you guys perfomr! You were_ awesome_!" the cub said, looking straight at Alex. Rita smiled and patted the boy's head.

"He took liking to lion, talked non-stop about you" she said. The whole Circus then glared at Alex. He laughed nervously and turned to the others.

"Yeah, I_ might _have met a cub on the first day and forgot to tell you all" he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his glossy mane. Iggy and the other Circus stood, apparently waiting. The cub then spoke up.

"Hey c'mon, you guys. Let's go back to my Circus. My mom wants to meet you all, and we want to give you a toast and welcome to the competition" he turned, and started marching. "Come on!" he said happily. His fellow Circuseers immediately began following him. Some would even pet him and start to lick his hair to groom his messy tuft, but he would always roll in the dirt afterwards. Alex looked over to his friends who merely shurgged.

"You can't deny a dirty cub"

"A cutie, at that" Gloria added happily and they began following the strange cub and his merry friends.

From afar, two figures watched attentively. So, _Zaragoza_ and _Fantaisie_ were going ot have an alliance? This made it even more easier for them to do their part. Shida licked her paw and ran it over her head, while Grace stood, eyeing Alex, taking in every move and every description. He was a good looking lion, he was. Shida then stopped grooming herself and snarled.

"Rita is a good lion, but stupid ally. She has no idea what she had sparked here" Grace raised her ears and looked at her partner.

"What do you mean, Shida?" the dark lioness grinned and looked at Grace.

"My dear, it is simple. Once Kaden finds out about this little meet-up, he'll be clawing his way to get close enough to put the blame on them as quick as possible. What can they do? They're a small Circus, currently in last place, and they're new to the competition. They most likely don't know what goes around these parts and that is a perfect victim. But if they make friends with _Fantaisie_, it'll be hard enough to go under their noses and, with Safi, it'd be almost impossible to continue the plan" Shida swatted the dirt angrily and paced. "I must run to the Circus and alert Kaden and Solide, they'll know what's best, you, on the other hand, stay here and watch them. Follow them. DO NOT let them out of your sight, _kueleweka_!"

Grace nodded firmly. "_Kueleweka_" and Shida ran off, top speed. Grace turned her attention back to _Zaragoza_ and watched as they went far enough for her to follow and not to get caught. She then slowly made her way towards them, trying to feign any suspicion towards her and to keep away from the many humans now appearing to clean up. Three things were certain: 1) Shida was, er, _mad_; 2) Kaden was going to get mad and 3) That lion guy was _cute_!_  
_

0O0

She hated it, she hated the whole act. She was merely put on for display and she _hated _it. Some of the human children pointed at her and whispered, she hated them too! How can humans be such cruel creatures? She was different, so what? So she had a fear of being in the spotlight, so what? Apparently her feelings were never taken into account and she was only a freak to everyone. She was in a freak show circus after all.

Once the show was finished, and when her circus cheered for being in second place, no one but Natasha came to greet her and celebrate. But Natasha was like her, in a way, she was put in this Circus because she was a _freak_, but she was also a big russian tiggress and no one messed with her. When she came, however, all ridicule and mock came from the other deformed and different Zebras.

One of them, Zack, had two heads and instead of having a different name for his other face, one was called _Za_ and the other _Ck_, they seemed all too eager to ridicule her whitish coat. Then there was Janice, a Zebra with hardly any stripes, but she was regarded as _beautiful _because she was so similar to the horses. Then there was Coco and Dumpling, two other Zebras that had a deformed leg and larger ears.

She was sickened by them whenever they passed by and started to mock her coat. She would tear up and run away and into her desolated cage, and she would weep. Why must animals be so cruel as well? Was she destined ot be hated? Then she didn't want to live. Why live if you're not happy? There was no use to life anymore, but the humans would think twice, she had tried to suicide once, and the humans had saved her even though she didn't want to be. Stupid humans. Making her suffer the ridcule and mock from oth species.

She hated to be her. She hated the other animals.

She.

Hated.

_Life._

**0O0**

**I hate to go all disappear on you guys but it must be done. Good thing i have Chapters as far as 30 done so no more planning, just writing. I'm in the mood now, so another may be finished. It all depends how much I love the next chapter and how my vibe is. **

**On a further note, I really don't like to write depressing stuff (I lie. It searches my inner emo) and promising _Funkywatermelon _that she will see her Gabby here, I did. Sorry if i made her a little emo, just felt like writing out what she thought, before she bumps into Marty again. Which will be soon hopefully! :3**

**Artica belongs to _ArticaChan _and the orangutan is Pongo, who belongs to VBeast. Those two will be trouble makers X3 **

**I hope you like them! Really and if you don't like what you see, tell me so I can change it a bit :3**

**Uzuri, out!**


	17. A Much Expected Quandary

**Chapter XVII - A Much Expected Quandary**

Iggy had talked nonstop along the way to the _Fantasie _tent. He had reveiled that the humans had gone off to party and celebrate, leaving the animals to do their _own _party, King Julien was too eager to see what kind of party animals he would be meeting, but the other lemurs were not as excited. Well, except for Mort. Rita had stayed next to Vitaly to catch up, and the two found themselves speaking Russian to hide private matters. Gia hated when he did that, but found that he had the right. After Irina, well, he wasn't the same, even after the zoosters had cured them of their runt.

_Have any cubs? _Vitaly questioned in russian. Rika smiled and giggled.

_Only a few. Like three or four. But they were sold long ago. _

_What were their names?_

_I named them after my parents and close friends,_ she grinned, _but the humans named them: Spotty, Claire, Bruster, and Cleo. Silly names, really, but their _real _names were Furaha, Roho, Mvua, and Mtu. _Vitaly grinned and and nodded. Rita narrowed her eyes at the big tiger. _You?_

"_Prostite?_" Vitaly asked outloud, almost scaring everone. Rita laughed.

_Do _you _have any cubs of your own? _Vitaly shook his head.

_Nyet. No cubs. _Rita furrowed her brow.

_Surely the humans tried after-?_

_Nyet. Never again. Don't want mate. _Vitaly said firmly though even he started to doubt his sudden decision. _Did _he want a mate? No. No he didn't. Rita lowered her ears.

_Sorry _she whispered, causing Vitaly to grin.

_I forgive you. You not know. _It still hurt though. For the rest of the trip, it was silent, and the animals still talked amongst themselves. Some of the others from _Fantaisie _managed to spark up a conversation with those from _Zaragoza _like the spanish stallion, Alejandro, who sparked up a nice conversation with the triplet mares and they talked quick psnaish about the annual bull sessions and the sunny atmosphere and delicious tomatoes.

They had finally arrived at the tent where they were unhappily greeted by a huge elephant and a few geese.

"Rita!" the elephant trumpeted. "Why did you bring _them_ here!" he demanded. The lioness held her mussle up high and faced the huge elephant.

"Look, Jumbo, these circus animals are old friends of mine, as well as Iggy. We invited them here to have a toast" the elephant grumbled before looking at the geese. The male flapped his wings and turned tail.

"I'll alert Safi, she'll come immediately"

"There's no need-"

"You broke a rule, Rita! You know better than to break a rule!" the female said. Rita bared her fangs.

"I did not break a rule. I invited them, it's not breaking. Besides, behing Safi and Safēda, I am practically the third leader! Which makes it alright!" the Zarazogans exchanged glances. This little speck was turning out to be more in a range of politics than an actual fight. Iggy came foward and sat on his hind quarters.

"It's not Rita's fault! I told them we could!"

"Foolish cub! We can't invite strangers in!" Rita growled and stood protectively over the cub, urging him towards her in a protective manner. "How dare you speak to safi's son this way! You know better, Jewel!" the goosette shrugged.

"He is still a cub and must learn, Rita. He can't go willy nilly inviting-"

"ENOUGH!" Jumbo trumpted once more, only more fierce than before. "Safi is here" Immediately all heads turned towards inside of the Circus where a lioness, accompanied by a lion to her left and a tigress to her right, came walking foward. She was like any ordinary lioness, she had a messy hair tuft that rivalled her son but bright gold eyes as well as a gold necklace and earrings decorated her visage. Her right ear had a hole in it, as well as another earring.

Hearing the yelling and the sudden appearance of Safi, the other animals inside the Circus surrounded the newcomers. Zaragoza found themselves overwhelmed by two opposing sides: Rita's and Jumbo's.

"Why are you yelling at my son?" she demanded, her eyes fixed on Jumbo and the female goose. Suddenly the animals complained at once.

"Rita brought our rivals!"  
"They are old friends! They are welcomed!"  
"Jewel yelled at Iggy!"  
"He is too young to make decisions like this, leave her be!"

Alex and the others found themselves in the middle of crossfire. They would have liked to get to know their Circus more better, thanks to Rita and Iggy, who made them seem so welcomed but others like the female Goose and Jumbo, made them feel as if they were trespassing in _their _territory. Safi frowned but stayed silent nonetheless. Her two followers, however, did not follow. The male lion stepped foward and roared.

He was a big fella, fit and muscular, he rivalled Vitaly in size and strength.

"Enough of this! You all know better than to bicker in front of Safi!" he turned his attention to Iggy. "Iggy, you know the rules are no strangers. Even if they are friends they are still rivals, as such they are strangers!"

"Don't be so stupid, Kidogo. If they are friends, they are not strangers! Rita knows them, so it is okay" the Tigress counter-argued. Kidogo merely snorted, staring daggers at Zaragoza. Finally Safi smiled and walked fowards.

"They can stay. Rita was once a part of this Circus, and so they are a part of us. They are welcomed to stay" Kidogo and the others gawped at her. Rita's followers nodded their heads, they knew that these animals meant no harm to them. However, others hesitantly did so, while the ones who wanted them out, merely bowed before leaving. Kidogo was the first to exit, not planning to introduce himself. Safi frowned at this but let it slip. Alex, after a long time of staying quiet throughout the whole fiasco, came foward and shook Safi's paw.

"Look, we're really flattered to be here but we feel as if we're not welcomed. Not to offend you but we feel-"

"Threatened. Stupid. Overwhelmed. Prey" Skipepr spoke suddenly, naming all of the emotions that the Circus animals possible felt that came up in his head. The other shushed him. "I'm very sorry, maybe next time we could-" Safi raised her paw.

"I understand, lion, it is much too heated. We shall meet properly next time. I just hope you do great in the competition and welcome to Circus Showdown!" Instantly, the animals of zaragoza left. Leaving no sign of them ever being there. While Iggy and Rita were upset that their family made them feel so unwanted, others were arguing with Safi about her invite for the zoosters and their circus.

"Are you crazy Safi! No offense but that was the most terrible mistake you ever did!"  
"Even worse than the bowling incident!"  
"WORSE THAN THAT! NEVER SPEAK OF IT!"

Safi rolled her eyes at her companions. She turned to face them and nodded her head. "To many of you, it may seem rash and very terrible, I once knew how you all felt. This competition gets very bad and very sneaky, but, like _Zaragoza_, there are circuses that are completely pure and have no idea what's in store. They have not done any harm to us. And when that lion met Iggy, did he chase him out? No! Iggy talked nothing but good of the lion! Don't be so quick to judge because of the competition! And besides, we have Rita's assurance that they are friends, and now you've chased good friends off!" she scorned them.

True, the animals felt threatened because they did not know them but Safi saw no need to feel threatened by good animals with the assurance of good and close associates. They had no right to judge so harshly for a simple a reason for being untrusting.

From afar, Grace watched the whole incident. She smirked. Okay so no alliance, and hat meant both Shida _and _Kaden would be happy, which would make things run alot smoother and Shida can stop complaining to Solide, and, occasionally, to her. She followed them as soon as she was 100% sure that _Fantaisie _could not spot or catch her scent before running off to follow _Zaragoza_. As she arrived, she watched on top of the big hill behind their cars as the animals began to get themselves cleaned and ready for bed.

ONce or twice she saw the glimpse of the handsome lion and would growl when she saw the female Jaguar interact with him. They were mates, she knew it. It wasn't right! How can a lion as handsome as he be with a low and badly spotted feline like _her _be his mate! It was simply not right and not natural. No matter, she would see to it that the lion will choose her instead. When the last of the lights went out she smiled and ran off into the night.

**0O0**

**Yayz! More Chapters! *Happy Dance* Maybe more if I'm not tired, or if me pappy doesn't catch us still up, Oohoo! XD**

**Well yes, more OC appearances, which I hope are correct. Jumbo's full name is Baba Jumbo and belongs to _Leopard The Warrior of Africa _:3 Hope he is grumpy and as unlikeful as you want him to be! X3**

**And Grace, I'm starting to like writing her bits. Suits my inner jealous/mean cheerleader mode! Heehee! X3 Anyways, hope you guys enjoy reading this Chapter! There might not be one until later this week, since I'm not using it for probably the next two days... or maybe just tomorrow depending on how my sister and I feel... along with our guest who is computer-obssessed! DX Ah well. **

**:3**


	18. Purest of Glitter

**Chapter XVIII - The Purest Of Glitter**

The Penguins had announced early the next day that the next round will be held in two weeks. The newest theme was "_Holiday_" and there were a handful of them to choose from. However, two of them were not allowed to be performed and the most popular ones like Christmas and Thanksgiving were taken. The Zoosters cursed their rotten luck while the Circus animals stayed quiet. Sure, they knew the most popular holidays that were worldwide but they were unfamiliar with those only native to America. Thanksgiving was one of them, they never understood the concept behind it but they realized it was a special time to the humans so the questioning had to wait for a later date.

After some hard thinking, the four owners of the Circus agreed on a holiday called "_4th Of July_" with big smiles upon their faces. After the penguins and the monkeys had left to claim the holiday to perform, Gia stepped forward and tugged Alex's arm.

"What is 4th of July, Alex?" The lion smiled.

"It's Independence day for the Americans! When we said _'Screw the Brits! We're doing it OUR way!'_" The dogs barked.

"Watch it, mate! Ah'm from the UK!" his friend looked at him baffled.

"I though you were from Wales, mate!"

"No! _I'M_from Wales!" the third said, poking the other. Before another argument could turn into a fight, Stefano quickly stepped in front of the dogs.

"Why don't we-a try to-a come up with something-a for this-a 4th of July-a?" he asked, smiling nervously while eyeing the dogs nervously for any signs of aggression against each other and/or Alex who was the main reason for this spectacle in the first place. Alex clapped his hands, smiling widely.

"Yeah! Let's do this!"

Sadly, not everything was easy for the_ Zaragoza _bunch. Some of the animals were still a bit on the edge since the show yesterday. All those wisecracks and teasing from the other Circus animals really brought their spirits lower than they had ever been in before. They had thought they were good but compared to those- they didn't stand a chance. This time, they had _really_hit rock bottom.

The leaders could sense the despair and sadness coming off from the other animals, and they did not like it one bit. Sure, a few animals did joke about their Circus and treated them like dirt but, like the announcer had said, they wouldn't be last for long; all they needed was to be in the top three, and the other Circuses, minus Fantaisie, and they would be the ones showing them up.

Some of the animals even complained outloud:  
"I can't believe that happened!"  
"We stink!"  
"This is a total nightmare!"  
"I never want to face a crowd again!"

Vitaly would frown and grunt whenever he heard them say that. He had promised them that they would never go back to their old ways, even when brought down and he'd be damned before letting it happen! He'd been through this once and he was not planning to have his family suffer like he did! He would face them and try to encourage but he knew it would take more than words to help them. They needed a little dash of glitter.

0O0

"Are you sure about this Iggy?" the small tigress asked her friend at the head of the pack. The scruffy little cub turned back, smiling from ear to ear.

"Yeah! They're so cool!" He answered turning his head back.

"Why are we visiting them again?" his other tiger friend asked. Iggy turned his head back once again, wearing a surprised look on his face.

"Mom said they can visit, but uncle won't let them. Neither will Jumbo or Jewel, so WE will!" the two cubs behind him shrugged but continued to follow him. True, Iggy had always gotten them into trouble around the Circus ground but the cub would always take credit, and he would usually tell them it was worth it; and it usually was.

As they neared Zaragoza the small tigress paced slower than her companions and slumped a bit. "I- I change my mind! Let's go back!" Iggy turned to his friend. A incredulous look on his face.

"_Whaaaaaat_? You're going _back_? Just like that?" the other tiger cub asked. Iggy suddenly pounced on the smaller cub.

"Oh no you ain't! Y'all agreed to come with me! Come on ya big baby!" he said, putting all of his weight onto the small girl. She squirmed under his weight and started to mew loudly.

"Idiot!" her brother yelled, pouncing onto Iggy, doubling the amount of weight on her. "You'll attract everyone's attention!" the tiger cub hissed. "Shutup!" the three cubs were so focused on each other, they did not notice three shadows growing in size behind them, and getting closer.

"Get offa me, Iggy!" the female snarled, trying to turn herself to swipe the lion cub, but Iggy merely laughed.

"Not until you promise to follow me!" the male tiger cub hissed and bit his ear, causing Iggy to yelp.

"Stay quiet! Somebody'll hear us!"

"Just did" a deep voice responded nonchalantly. The cubs froze and turned. Iggy merely grinned and jumped up, freeing the small tigress but causing her brother to fall from his back.

"ACK! Iggy!" the cub complained as he watched his friend run towards Alex, Gia and Vitaly.

"Alex! Jaguar girl! Tiger stuff!" he greeted. Alex merely grinned, laughing inwardly at the new nicknames the cub gave to his friends. Gia smiled and cooed at the cub and Vitaly raised an eyebrow at his nickname.

"Vat?" he questioned. The cub merely smiled and him while he hugged Alex's leg.

"Yo! I came to say 'Hi!' so HI!" he grinned. Gia giggled and ruffled his hair, just to see how it felt. Iggy then turned to point at his two friends. "That's Seymour and Alaine! Two of my best buds! They wanted to meet you guys! Say hi guys!" the cub encouraged.

Seymour the male tiger sprinted forward, almost clashing with Iggy but instead jumping on him and waving his paw. "Sup" he greeted.

"Yo" Alex greeted back. The kid language these days. Alex looked over to Vitaly and Gia who did not understand the words being exchanged. He took it upon himself to explain. "Sorry guys, us _Americanos_like to say hi in different ways. 'Sup' and 'Yo' are one of them and the newest." Gia grinned, eager to learn more while Vitaly huffed.

What a strange country. Seymour grinned and looked back at his sister, who was still in her spot, cowering. "Come on, pussycat!" he teased. "It's not like they eat cubs!" Seymour then turned to face the three adults. "You don't, do you?" he asked. Alex and Gia shook their heads while Vitaly grinned.

"I only eat stupid cubs"

"Vitaly!" Gia said shockingly. The tigress yelled from afar.

"I'M NOT STUPID! DON'T EAT ME!" she yelled covering herself with her paws. Seymour grinned and purred as Gia stroked his head.

"But she's not as smart and good looking like me!" he smirked while Gia merely giggled. Iggy then threw his friend off.

"You two are dumb compared to me! AND I have the ultimate hairstyle!" he grinned proudly. He looked over to the tigress. "C'mere Alaine! They're funny!" Alaine hesitated before walking shyly over to the adults. Seymour managed to get Iggy off of his back and started to pounce on the other cub fiercely.

Gia knelt down Alaine got closer. "Do not worry, Alaine. We not so bad, I love cubs!" she said smiling. Alaine flinched.

"Not to EAT, right?" Setmour grinned as did Vitaly.

"No, stupid!" Seymour said while Vitaly chuckled. Alaine gasped and jumped onto Gia.

"Save me! Tiger stuff's going to eat me!" The cubs as well as Vitaly laughed. Gia turned to Vitaly glaring at him.

"Shame on you Vitaly! She is only a little girl!" Vitaly snickered silently while giving Seymour a high paw. Alex tried super hard not to grin and merely started walking back.

"Come on, you three! I'll introduce you to the Circus bunch!"

0O0

It didn't take long for the three cubs to win the hearts of most of the Circus. The females found them simply adorable and, seeing that they were so kind and girly, Alaine started to lose her shyness and soon proved to Vitaly and Alex that she was almost as crazy as her brother and Iggy as well.

The males found Iggy and Seymour to be quite the comedians together. They made the other males laugh with their big talk and sometimes found themselves pranking the females for fun.

Thank goodness the cubs were scared of Gloria. She nearly death-hugged them when she got to know their names. The Andalusian Triplets cooed at them and offered to take them on a ride on their backs. Gia would ruffle their hair, which the boys seemed to like _very _much, which surprisingly annoyed Alex to a degree, and they found Sonya to be pretty cool, much to the others dismay. Julien would then show his girl off to the cubs and would tell them how he wished they would find someone as beautiful as his Sonya. The boys would smile while Alaine would _"Aww" _at that.

Duchess the elephant would cuddle the cubs in her trunk and would tell them stories of the Circus. Arthur would then, for fun, take the cubs into his trunk and shoot them in the air. They never got tired of it, in fact, they kept at it for half an hour until the elephants realized that the cubs were walking weird and bumping into things with crazy grins on their faces. Iggy's fascination with Zaragoza had multiplied tenfold and it wasn't long before he went over to Alex who was talking to Gia about their new act.

"Alex!" the cub greeted. The lion turned his head and smiled at the cub.

"Yo! What's up?". Gia smiled as the cub climbed up Alex's back and took his place on top of Alex's mane.

"Nothing much. Hey, which holiday did you guys choose! My mom chose Christmas! We're gonna do a Christmas carol and dress my uncle Kidogo as Santa Claus and-"

"Wait, wait!"Alex stopped him, grinning widely. "That HUGE lion was your uncle?" the cub grinned.

"Yeah! So he's Santa Claus my mom's Mrs. Claus, my big sister is going to be-"

"Whoa there sport!" Alex said, getting the cub by the scruff. "I want this to be a surprise so no telling! Ok?" Iggy grinned.

"'Kay" he answered. "So what are YOU guys planning to do?" Alex then grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his mane.

"Uhh... I'm... Not... Sure... Yet" he answered. The cub stated at him in awe.

"You mean you have no idea what to do?" Alex shrugged. He felt like he failed a test for some reason as the cub merely stared at him in some sort of trance. The cub then grinned and ran off. "Follow me! We'll help!" he exclaimed, running off into the middle of the Circus to find his friends. Alex and Gia followed.

0O0

"Safi! SAFI! I can't find the cubs!" this little bit of news turned the lioness' head, her earrings dangling for everyone to see. She furrowed her brow and leaned over to the young tigress in front of her.

"Are you sure they're not hiding?"

"No! The whole circus can't find them anywhere. I've called and called but- Ooooh! I'm _SO_sorry Safi! I didn't mean to-! My poor babies!" the tigress broke down and sobbed. "I'm a terrible mother! How can I let them slip so easily!" as she sobbed, Rita as well as another Tigress, a white one, merely rolled their eyes.

"Loosen up, Sandra! The cubs won't be far!" the white tigress exclaimed, causing Sandra to look up.

"And how would YOU know that Safēda!" she questioned. The white tigress merely smirked.

"I'm not as hopeless as you are, kit-kat" Safi rolled her eyes at her daughter and looked back at Sandra.

"Don't worry. We'll find them. We'll look for them right now"

"Yes, do not worry. Cubs may be troublesome but they can't get far, pawprints are practically everywhere! Ve vill find them" Rita assured her.

"We?" Safēda questioned as Sandra ran out of the small cart. "What makes you think _I'll_help clean up what Sandra did?" Safi glared into the tigress' eyes. Gold to Blue.

"Because Iggy is with them. And considering what he didn't get to experience last night and his need to meet the lion again, do you know where he might have LED them to?"

Instantly the three females left the cart. Rita had a wide grin on her face. Of course. OF COURSE! Iggy surely would take Seymour and Alaine to go meet the lion. But Safi and Safēda had other plans. Sure, _Zaragoza_had kind animals but no use to letting the cubs get hurt somehow.

0O0

The slim cheetah watched as he saw the three females leave the camp, apparently following the small cubprints on the ground. He frowned. So far, things have been hectic, according to what Shida reported and then was Grace had seen. It was pretty topsy turvy from here on out. He looked from the corner of his eye to see Shida lying down next to him. He swore, she never liked to watch when it was his station. She was a good fighter and smack-talker but she was totally pointless when it came to her and him in the same team.

Not that he didn't like it. Shida was his mate. Surprisingly, everyone at the Circus had accepted that. Even Kaden. Which was surprising because Shida _was_ his daughter, though he never complained about her lack of attention for missions such as these. He nudged her as he saw the three figures disappear towards the desolate road towards _Circo Zaragoza_. Seriously, what was so special about that itty bitty Circus?

Turning back to his mate, he nudged her urgently. He had to report this to Kaden. It seemed as if the three main leaders were going to pay a visit to the lion and his cohorts. Shida growled, eyes still closed before opening her eyes to reveal deep red irises.

"What?" she growled. Solide frowned.

"Safi and the other two left the Circus, probably to search for those three cubs. I have to report this to Kaden as soon as possible. This may be easier than we thought" Shida then stretched and stood up fully before crossing her arms, frowning.

"No fair. You always get to report to him when I'm there! why can't I report for once while you're my partner this time? I always have to follow the others!" she complained. Solide rolled his eyes. Another thing that annoyed him: she complained.

"I go because, one, I'm faster; two, I'm more informative; and three, if he needs me to come back, I'll be back in a flash!" Shida rolled her eyes.

"_'Informative'_ my tail! Are you saying I don't give Kaden enough details?"

"I'm just saying it would be more productive if I went. End of discussion" Shida growled at her mate.

"It will end when _I_ say it will end!" Solide frowned and soon he and his mate started to exchange witty remarks and comebacks. He swore, if he had to deal with anything with Kaden about not informing him sooner than he would have liked to, he will take away her yarn ball again! Suddenly Shida smirked and sat down.

"I win" she proclaimed, flipping her tail on his nose. "I go. You follow"

"No I go. You follow" she pouted once more before sighing.

"Fine. I do better at stalking anyways" Solide smirked before nuzzling her then running off. She really was. He knew. The sneaky devil.

0O0

As they neared the rival Circus, Rita noticed something. It wasn't really of a major degree of importance but, to her, it was kind of a big deal in a way. She snook a peek at Safi, the leader, and realized that she had a mate and a son. Even though her mate was sold off, she never again would mate to another male lion. Rita respected her fierce loyalty to her mate. She herself had mated with a male, and he gave her cubs, but she was still considered to be a mother and a wife to a certain degree.

She then looked at the white tigress accompanying them. She wasn't a mother, she didn't even had a mate yet. How curious. She smirked at her when the tigress noticed her staring at her. "What?" she questioned in a quite edgy manner.

"Oh nothing" Rita replied, smiling. "It's just, I've alvays vondered. How old are you?" the tigress eyed the older lioness before responding.

"Six. Why?" Rita grinned wider.

"Well, I was vondering vy you don't have mate?" the tigress raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you concerned with my love-life? Besides, I don't need a mate. And even if I had a chance to be with the male, it would probably be because the humans want white cubs out of me" Rita's grin widened.

"So if you could, vould you?" the tigress shrugged.

"I don't need cubs. Sandra's and Safi's fill in the gap for me" Rita could hear the soft giggling coming from the front. Safi. The brownish gold lioness turned her head to smile at Safēda.

"What? No mate? No family? I want some grandcubs!" she teased. Safēda frowned for a bit before chuckling.

"Hey calm down, Iggy will soon be of his age to interact with ladies of his age. There's your grandcubs right there"

"Don't you know whenever cubs are born into a Circus they are either sold or kept? Most likely they will be sold. This Circus will be full of animals. And I want to see which male would be able enough to put up with you" she laughed. Rita did as well, giggling loud. Safēda merely rolled her eyes.

"Oh ha ha, I forgot how to laugh. Look, we're almost there, can't we just move on?" Rita cooed.

"Aw, is our precious kitten embarrassed?" the white tigress growled.

"I swear Rita, if you push me too hard I'll-"

"Hush!" Safi said, suddenly stopping and sniffing the air. "I smell them. Yes, I was right. They came here.. _without _permission!". Safēda and Rita gawped at their leader before the other lioness spoke up.

"You are concerned more for not asking permission then being hurt?" she questioned her leader with quite a poker face. Safēda joined in with Rita as Safi turned her head, looking quite annoyed.

"Of course I'm not! It just- ticks me off when they do that!" and the lioness ran towards the rival Circus with Safēda and Rita hot on her tail.

0O0

Iggy giggled loudly as he balanced himself on top of the others below him. Alaine and Seymour stood under him, trying to balance themselves and Iggy without falling down. Under then, Alex and Gia held on tight to the pole they balanced themselves with, and keeping a hold of the cubs. Somehow even Vitaly was brought into this as well as the rest of the Circus animals.

Cubs were amazing. They actually talked _everyone _into doing a "balancing act" and seeing how long they could be in their positions until they all fell. Iggy kept giggling as Seymour's paw had started to tickle his behind.

"Don't tickle me, Seymour!" he whined, still giggling, "I'm gonna fall!" the tiger cub looked up at his friend who gave him a look.

"Dude, it's not me who's tickling you!" Iggy turned to Alaine who merely gave him a look.

"Don't even think it was me!" Iggy then looked under them. Ah, Alex's mane was tcikling him, somehow even Seymour and Alaine's size hadn't kept all of the adult lion's hairs down. Gia giggled as she heard the cubs complain with each other. She looked into Alex's deep blue eyes and nuzzled him, making the lion blush slightly.

"Ewwww!" the male cubs said, they had happened to look down to see Gia and Alex sharing cooties. Alaine merely gasped and "Awwed" at them. Gia giggled before looking up at the cubs, almost losing her balance in the air.

"Soon you will find your own mates and nuzzle" she revealed. Seymour and Iggy made a face while Alaine merely stared at Gia with huge curious gold eyes.

"Not me! I'm gonna be a bachelor like uncle!" Iggy said proudly, puffin ghis chest out. Seymour laughed.

"Yeah right! You go gaga at every pretty face you see!" Alaine giggled and looked back down at the others.

"It's true!" Vitaly grunted form under them, an annoyed look on his face.

"Can ve get down? My back's hurting" he said, trying to get Alex's feet off of his face. "Alex! get off my face!"

"Sorry, Vitaly!" the lion apologized before trying to get on the tiger's long shoulder. "Man, Vitaly, your shoulders feel so rough! Did you put the conditioner like I told you!"

"YES!" the pair recieved laughes from under then and above.

"What in the world are you idiots _doing_?" someone asked from below. Vitaly looked down to see two lionesses and one white tigress. He recognized one of them: Rita! Before he can greet her, Iggy had beaten him to it.

"Mom! Rita! Safēda!" he greeted, waving frantically at them, the other cubs did the same, uknowingly causing the rest of the Circus to become off balance.

"I'm-a gonna sneeze-a!" Stefano warned as he stood below the others with a ball on his nose, trying to desperately balance everyone and not making them fall.

"NO! STEFANO-!"

"Ah... AH... AAAAHHHCHOOOOO!" and _Circo Zaragoza _went tumbling down.

**0O0**

**I am REALLY spoiling you guys this time. I've decided in order to make this story run a bit faster and in order to do that, I'm combining some Chapters together. The scenes after the bad guys were suppose to be part of Chapter 19, but I got too excited writing this part and found myself kind of replaying a Madagascar 3 McDonalds commercial XD**

**I mean COME ON! I was TEMPTED! XD Even used Stefano's little line there! *_SQUEEEEEEEL_* So cute! Anyways, hope you enjoy the other cubs here. I couldn't find good names for them and I wanted to name Alaine "Bodicea" but I thought Alaine sounded cuter and it was irish for "Beauty" so i've heard. She's english, not entirely irish, but a good part as is her brother, Seymour. :3**

**Iggy is just a ball of fun fur isn't he? You just wanna squish him until he suffocates! X3 Well, I'm sleepy, took me this whole day to write this and with the help of a good friend of mine (_Funkywatermelon_) I was able to come up with an idea for the next scenes! Ha! Take THAT writer's block! The song that helped me and inspired me was, surprisingly, a love song made in the 2000's called _One In A Million by Bosson _:3**

**SO I hope you like the extendiness of this CHpater because that's how it's gonna be from now on! :D Also, done my FIRST drawing comission for a friend of my dad- he LUVS it! Congratulate me! I should put up two more chapters as long, or LONGER, than this one next time if I get enough reviews and applauses! *Naughty eyes* XD Nah, I'm kidding, but, seriously, R&R! XD**

**Ok. I go now. Uzuri OUT!**


	19. A Not So Perfect Day

**Chapter XIX - A Not So Perfect Day**

It all happened so fast, too quick for anyone to process through in such a short amount of time present. Safi's eyes widened as she saw her son, literally, fell victim to Stefano's sneeze and, like everyone else, was falling down. Down. _Down. _

Instantly she ran forward at full speed, towards the many animals already breaking their fall on the ground and flew into the pile as they did, barely catching her son by his stomach in her gold muzzle. As she finally landed on the other side, she could feel her son's giddy giggling in his stomach. "That was awesome! Let's go again!" but instead of chuckling at her son's words, Safi turned to her side where she found that Rita and Safēda had done the same as she did in regarding to the cub's safety.

Rita had somehow managed to catch Seymour by his back leg and part of his tail. The big cub dangled from her mouth, upside down, looking a bit cross-eyed and chuckling from his experience at falling from above 8 feet from the ground. Of course, to Seymour, it was merely living large.

Safēda had Alaine by the scruff of her fur, not letting go for any reason until she felt it safe for the cub to resume standing near those idiots that almost squashed the cubs into pancakes. She held her head up high, looking down at the animal pile before her. Rita had set Seymour down and started to lick the small wound she had accidentally inflicted on the cub's foot. The cub didn't mind, he was more anxious about how his new friends managed to survive the fall. Poor Stefano might have both taken all the bulk of the wieght and had been under all of them as they fell.

One Safi had set her son down, Iggy ran headfirst into the pile of the Zaragoza bunch. She stared at him, a bit puzzled when he practically forced his way into the tiny hole made for him. She watched as his tail disappeared into the thicket and watched as the animals shifted uncomfortably as the cub moved.

_"Sorry!" "Oops! Was that your foot?" "Ah! Sorry! Didn't see ya there!" _the small cub would repeat endlessly as he kicked, stepped, and, occasionally, bit someone. Finally he popped up at the top of the pile, with difficulty he got out and reached back into the pile with his head and came out with something in his mouth. An ear.

He pulled with all of his might, jerking his head back plenty of times, his mother warned him of chopping off whoever he had in his mouth's ear when she saw how violent he was puulling it. The cub listened to his mother and decided to instead pull with his paws. Soon Alex's head popped out, followed by a loud yelp coming from the lion's muzzle. That cub could bite as hard as any grown lion! Alex shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the predicament he found himself and his friend's in and spotted the gold lioness standing before them. Safi took one step toward them,

"Do you need any assistance, sir?" she asked politely. Alex was about to laugh it off and claim that they were more than capable of doing such until Marty's head popped out, a humongous grin on his face.

"Maaaaan! That was off the Shi-_ZAAM_!" he laughed. He then turned to his feline friend who merely glared at him annoyingly. Marty, oblivious to the lion's glare, then shrugged and shook himself.

"Is everyone okay? Gloria? Melman? Stefano? Hey, wait, can anyone feel my hoof? I can't feel it!" he shook himself once more, earning a few groans and complaints from his friends under him.

"Marty! You hit me on my _head_!" Melman's muffled voice complained from below him. "That could've given me a concussion! I could have been in a COMA!" Marty looked down and ducked down only to come back up again.

"Yep, Melman's alright. I mean, oops! Sorry Melman!" he cried before taking a deep breath before going back into the pile to retrieve his fallen hoof. Alex grinned sheepishly, looking straight at Safi, answering her earlier question.

"Yes we need help" he squeaked when he felt someone accidentally step on his tail. Safi looked at the other two felines who awaited for her orders.

"Rita, I want you to help anyone who's being crushed. Pull them out" she turned towards the tigress when Rita ran towards her old friends. "Safēda, I want you to help the others who are stuck. Pull them out as well, be gentle. Don't use your teeth" she said before climbing the pile to help her son get Alex out. Safēda merely smiled before walking towards the bunch, she looked up to see Gia trying to pull herself from Arthur's butt.

"Hold on" she said, getting ahold of Gia's paws, "Lemme-" and she easily pulled Gia out, making the Jaguar girl fall onto the Tigress. Gia quickly got up and helped the tigress up.

"Thank you! Let's help others"she said, quiclly going to the aid. Safēda could tell that Gia certiainly loved her Circus. She looked over to Rita who had a knocked out Stefano on her back.

"Stefano! Vake up! I gots cupcake vith me!" the Sea Lion opened his eyes and looked around frantically.

"Cupcake! CUPCAKE!" he exclaimed. Rita nodded.

"Yes, Cupcake ees here" the lioness said, pulling out a soft, pink blanket. "Cupcake" Stefano eagerly took the blanket from out of Gia's paws and held it tightly.

"I-a missed-a blanket _soooooooo_ much-a!" Safēda's ears went back. That was... weird. She looked around for anyone else who needed help, but found that those who had been saved were now helping the others. Suddenly she saw a tail flicker and twitch from inside the pile. A red tail with black stripes, a tiger. She sprung foward, getting a good grip on the tail and pulled.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!" Vitaly screamed from the inside, making everyone aroudn him jump in fear. Iggy laughed as he slid down the pile with his front faced upward. As he landed softly onto the ground, he trotted towards Safēda who still held the twitching tail of Vitaly.

"Don't worry, that's Safēda." he said, talking to the pile still around Vitaly. "She'll take good care of you, Tiger stuff! Okay! Now, Safēda-" the cub climbed onto the tail and held on, grinning widely. "PUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULL! ONWARD!" he exclaimed and Safēda pulled.

"'EY! That's my _TAIL_!" Vitaly yelled from the inside, snarling from the inside. Safēda scoffed.

"I know, genius! I'm trying to help!" she spat and she pulled once again, managing to free only Vitaly's lower body, which included his legs and a part of his stomach. Rita ran over to her and grabbed Vitaly's legs.

"PULL!" the lioness commanded and, with the power of a 308 lb. female Tigress, a 180 lb. female lioness and a 4 lb. lion cub, they managed to pull the Siberian Tiger out from his hole. Vitaly instantly got up and retrieved his tail from the tigress' paws, staring angrily at Safēda.

"_Never_ touch tail" he snarled before walking away, fuming. Rita ran over to him.

"Vitaly! She tryin' to help! Don't be mad" she called but Safēda merely scoffed and rolled her eyes. Iggy smiled at Safēda and climbed up her back and sat on her head, his legs settled onto her shoulders.

"Does it hurt when you pull someone's tail, Saffy?" he asked curiously. The tigress crossed her arms nonchallantly.

"I dunno, bro. Wanna find out?"

"No thanks"

"Thought so"

0O0

"So, uh, thanks for helping us out. We would never have gotten out if you didn't stop to help" Alex said, a bandage over his tail and his ear and grinning widely. Gia stood next to him, hugging Safi, with gratitude written all over her face.

"Yes! We would have gotten more hurt if you didn't help!" she exclaimed. Rita walked over to them and hugged Gia.

"I am happy we get to see you 'gain. Just" she said. Gia hugged her back and soon the whole bunch of the Circus of Zaragoza, via Vitaly, were crowding around the three females, shaking their paws and expressing their thanks.

Iggy stood proudly, puffing his chest out. Well, anyone would if their mommy was a hero. Alaine and Seymour danced around the felines, acting like they held baskets and were throwing flowers in the air, laughing giddily. Rita giggled and watched them with keen eyes while Safi merely grinned and treated every animal in the Circus with respect and with warm eyes and paws.

She caught Vitaly far away, who merely crossed his arms and was staring in her direction, distrust in his emerald eyes. She looked closer. His eyes... they seemed all too familiar. Oh, maybe it was just her imagination, she didn't know a tiger that big... or that macho... just her assertive brother-in-law. She looked back at Safēda who sat away from them, bathing Iggy who tried hard to escape from her big paws.

"No! I will not have a bath!" he cried, using his claws to hang onto the dirt as he forced his middle to squeeze out of her grip. Safēda merely smirked and held on tight as her tongue drifted over his back and onto his fur tuft. "Seymour! Alaine! AVENGE ME MY FRIENDS!" and he disappeared under Safēda's paws and chest. The tigress merely laughed before finally finishing her job and letting Iggy run and escape, trying to find a patch of dirt to roll in.

Safi did as well and merely sat next to her daughter. "Safēda, aren't you going to meet the other animals?" the lioness asked. Safēda merely rolled her eyes and took a peek at Vitaly.

"Hmm, some of them don't trust us.."

"I wouldn't blame them. They have every right to. It's our job to make them think otherwise, so let's go" she said, pulling the Bengal tigress' arm. She dragged her over to the circle of animals and smiled as they saw her coming towards them with a surprised Safēda trying to keep up with her mother's fast-walking.

Gia saw them first and ran towards Safi and Safēda, exlcaiming with a big grin, "Ah, thank you for helping me get out! Alex! Vitaly! Stefano! this is the tigress who pulled me out!" Gia was like a cub in a adult's body when she saw Safēda, she was the lone female feline, so it really excited her to meet another female feline, even if not of her race. Alex came foward, a big grin on his face.

"Hey! Thanks! I couldn't get to her and neither could the others, thanks to you, she;s not hurt!" he said, hugging Gia and shaking Safēda's paw. The tigress blinked and nodded.

"Yeah... uhm..."

"Mama mia! Thank-a you for rescuing-a Gia! She is like-a sister to-a me!" the Stefano hugged Safēda, his embrace tightening by the minute. safi merely grinned when she saw the shocked look on her daughter's face. Vitaly came last, grumbling in thick Russian. _'Oh no..' _Safēda moaned inside her head.

"This tigress pulled my tail" he exclaimed, crossing his arms. Safēda frowned at him.

"I was trying to _help_ you, Russkitty" she mumbled. Vitaly lowered at her, trying to either wonder why she called him that or the fact that she was getting on his nerves. Alex looked at the two for a moment before stepping in front of Vitaly, in case the tiger did something that would embarrass himself as well as the rest of the Circus.

"Hey! He doesn't mean to be mean, he's just playing around!"

"Am I?" Vitaly questioned, trying to sound innocent but coming out threatning. As usual. Alex mentally kicked himself before turning to Stefano. The Sea Lion understood immediately, and pulled the tiger's paw.

"Come-a Vitaly! Rita wanted to-a see if-a you were-a okay!" and soon the two were gone, leaving only Gia, Alex, Safi and Safēda. The tigress kept looking to where Vitaly went before muttering. Safi pinched Safēda, still smiling at the other felines.

"I am so sorry-"

"It's okay. Vitaly was never trusting of me either. Once he sees how nice you two are, he'll warm up to you" Alex explained. Safēda merely scoffed, looking to the side.

"Not to me"

"Well, he doesn't trust others that are not Circus or from another Circus. He's paranoid like that but it's Vitaly!"

"I see" Safi said, giving Safēda, who really didn't care much to know about the Siberian male, a hard glare. "I am still sorry for her behavior. It was _most _unpleasant" Safēda turned to give Safi a shocked look.

"_Me_?"

"Yes you, now hush" Safi said, giving Safēda the stink-eye. The tigress instantly shut her mouth and wandered off. Stupid tiger. He and his melodrama. She was only trying to help! Good for nothing, ungrateful, arrogant, haughty, rude Russkitty!

0O0

Vitaly grumbled to himself. He managed to escape Stefano's flippers and isolated himself from the others. How dare that tigress pull his tail! It is very sensitive! How could she NOT know that? She's a tiger too! All cat's tails are sensitive to being pulled or stepped on! It never came to mind that it might have been the only way he could have gotten out but nonetheless, it wouldn't have mattered. Someone pulled his tail and he didn't like it.

Vitaly had climbed onto his car and took out a few rings from his cabinet and started to stare at them intently. He didn't know why, but sometimes whenever he went to practice his act, he would stare at his hoops until someone distracted him or he suddenly remembered that he needed to practice.

Iggy popped his head into Vitaly's car and watched as the tiger stared blankly at his hoop. He had seen the Russian Tiger leave from sight while he rubbed dirt onto his coat and his curious mind go the better of him and decided to follow him. The cub stared at the tiger for awhile, wondering what he would do when he turned to find him there, only to see that Vitaly did not move.

"Hey!" he yelled, jumping on him. Vitaly flinched and fell back, and bumped onto his knives. Quick as a flash, he grabbed the cub by the scruff and immdiately pushed himself away just as the knives fell off and penetrated the floor. Iggy blinked before giving Vitaly a sheepish grin. "Oops"

"You know how dangerous vas? You could get hurt" Vitaly spoke before walking out with his rings. Iggy ran after him.

"Hey! Wait!" the cub called, running out the car. Vitaly turned and huffed before setting the ring in it's place. Iggy slowed and halted before sitting down away from Vitaly or anything harmful close by. "What are you doing with a ring?" the cub asked curiously. The cub stood up to walk but Vitaly held a paw up, signaling for the cub to stay.

"Vatch" the tiger said before going to his place, a few yards away and breathed. He looked straight at the ring and ran.

0O0

Safēda yawned and laid her head down next to Rita who talked to Gia nonstop. The two had been getting along alot lately and Safēda, finding no interest in their conversation, had decided to take a nap. Though that was a fail in itself, since she wasn't tired nor was she sleepy. She felt oddly energized and, due to that, kept her eyes open instead, taking in the scenery. She didn't see Russkitty anywhere, which was good. He couldn't bother her now.

Alaine and Seymour were taking turns getting baths from Safi who conversed with some of the other females like Gloria and Duchess, as well as the horse triplets who each finished each others sentences and added to Safi's and the others. The girls didn't mind, they triplets were just very excited to learn about this nw competition.

But, wait- Safēda looked around, eyeing everywhere that held patches of dirt or something muddy or dirty, in a way. Where did Iggy go?

0O0

"Wooooooooah! That was so _coooool_!" Iggy exclaimed as he ran towards the tiger who held an arrogant smirk on his face. Iggy first looked inot the ring then to Vitaly, then back to the ring and started to to kidly measures and finally, his jaw dropped.

"Did you use a shrink-ray to shrink!" the cub asked, wagging his tail. Vitaly chuckled, amused.

"No. This is my act. I do impossible"

"COOOOOOOOOOOL!" the cub smiled. He looked back at the ring and jumped around it.

"Can I try?" Vitaly blinked as he stared at the cub.

"Vat?"

"Can I try!" the cub repeated, still smiling. Vitaly furrowed his brow and scratched the back of his neck in confusion and that feeling someone gets when they don't know what to say to another. _Speechless_.

"Oh. Uhm. Vell, I don't-"

"Awww come on!" Iggy begged, running towards Vitaly and hanging onto his paw. The cub almost reminded Vitaly of the first time Gia saw his act and begged to do it as well. He bit his lips before sighing.

"Alright. Vy not?"

"YES!" the cub exclaimed jumping around. Vitaly put a paw on the cub's head which stopped Iggy from jumping further.

"Okay. Listen. Doing this is professional. You just a cub. Listen closely"

"Listen" Iggy smiled. Vitaly picked the cub up and set him a few yards less that what Vitaly had at the start of his act in order to make it fully out of the ring. He set the ring to be a bit bigger than his but smaller that Iggy, to please the kid.

"You must be focused. No distractions. Focused. You must look at hoop and not anything else. Ready?"

"Yeah!" Iggy exclaimed. Vitaly nodded and turned around to get the lubricant. Little did he know that Iggy had mistaken his nod as permission to go and he was surprised when he didn't see the cub in his position. He was gone. His face puzzled, he dreaded to turn to the hoop and found Iggy halway through it, trying to get himself out.

"Uhhhhh... Oops?" Vitaly sighed.

"You forgot lubricant" The cub wiggled and looked back at Vitaly. His gold eyes held deep fright, he was scared that he was never going to come out. Vitaly assured him by remaining calm and heading towards him with the hair conditioner in his paw. "It alright. You just need this and-" Vitaly paused and frowned. He held his other paw out and shook the container. Nothing came out. "_Proklyatie_" the Siberian tiger muttered.

"What?" Iggy said, his voice a bit jumpy. Vitaly looked back at the cub and patted his head reassuringly.

"Lubricant ran out. No worry, Alex got more. I need to find him?"

"Alex?" the cub said hopefully, the name of the Lion giving him a bit of hope.

"_Da_" Vitaly replied. He started to walk to where he had last seen the lion before turning back to the cub, "Do not vorry. You von't be there long. I vill be quick as possible" and the tiger ran off, leaving the cub there by himself. Iggy whimpered, despite Vitaly's reassurance and started to mew.

The mewing caught the brown ears of Safēda who was sniffing out Iggy's scent and ran to him. Oh no, what had happened? She finally skidded to a halt when the mewing was loud enough for her to know exactly where he was. She turned a corner and found the cub half inserted into a small hoop. Iggy mewed loudly once more and sniffed.

"IGGY!" the white tigress called who ran towards him, panic forming. Iggy looked up and smiled.

"Safēda! Oh WOW! It's good to see you! Did you bring the lubricant?"

"The lubri-what? Iggy! how'd you get in here!"

"Oh, the tiger guy was showing me how to jump through a small hoop and forgot to put conditioner on to make me slip easily but-" he wiggled. "I got stuck"

"Sure, you _'forgot'_. Is this what he told you to tell me?" she snarled. How could that idiotic tiger let her baby brother get stuck on a _hoop_! Iggy stared at her before shaking his head sideways.

"No really, Saffy. I didn't know that I was suppose to put lubricate on and I got-"

"Iggy, got lubricant" Safēda could hear the Russian accent of the male tiger. She snarled and sprinted towards him. Vitaly realized all too late that he was pushed over and pinned down, an angry Safēda baring her teeth and growling.

"What. Have. You've. _DONE_!" she snarled. Vitaly growled as well, pushing her off him, and now being the one on top, facing Safēda. The tigress growled at him.

"I do nothing. Cub forgot to put lubricate. I went to get more-"

"Is _that _your plan!" she snapped, pushing him off and being on top again. "To threaten my brother and make me believe this stupid story!"

"But Saffy!" Iggy called, wanting to get out of the hoop seeing the tigers were about to go Mortal Kombat on each other. "He's telling the truth! I forgot to put it on and he ran out so he went to Alex to get some more! I'm fine!" Safēda snarled at Vitaly again before slowly turning her head to look at the cub.

"Are you positive Iggy?"

"YES!" the cub exclaimed. "It's the truth so get off of him!" Safēda eyed Vitaly once more, eyeing him and noticing that he was doing the same. She suddenly noticed that his eyes were green... why did she even care! She quickly got off of him and snatched the conditioner from his paws and walked over to Iggy.

"I'm putting it on so try to get out while I'm doing it" the cub nodded and waited until he felt the slippery substance around him and started to slip off.

"H-hey! It's working!" he exclaimed, finally slipping free and landing in a grateful Safēda's arms. She held the cub tightly and sighed. Good. Iggy was safe. Good. Very very good! While hugging she opened one eye to look at Vitaly who was still snarling at her. She bared her teeth.

"Iggy, why don't you go to your mom?" Iggy smiled, oblivious to Safēda's command and left the two cats to battle it out. "You" she said, pointing one finger at him and edging it towards her. "Come closer. We need to talk" Vitaly said nothing.

"Ve have nothing to talk about"

"Oooooh yes ve do!" Safēda taunted, her claws beginning to unsheathe. "How could you even think of letting Iggy do something so_ stupid_! Hoop jumping? That was dangerous! he cou;d've hurt himself!" Vitaly stiffened at the mention of his cat being "stupid".

"It not stupid. I _love _doing hoops. He wanted to try, I saw no problem in him trying. You are crazy" Safēda stepped foward.

"You call me crazy, Russkitty!" she snapped. Vitaly frowned.

"Don't call me that"

"I can call you what I want!"

"So can I... crazy"

"SHUTUP!" Safēda yelled. She started running towards him, Vitaly prepared himself for the attack but found that the tigress had no intention of hurting him, merely bumping into his shoulder rather harshly and cursing in another language he did not recognize. He frowned. That kitty had some _major_ anger issues. He sighed. He was going to get an earfull from Gia if she got word of _this_. He merely ignored it and went back to practicing his act.

0O0

Safi hadn't expected her daughter to be in such a foul mood when she saw her approaching. The air around her was evident and Safi got up from the girls circle and said nothing as the tigress whispered into her ear. Safi nodded, sighing. Something _always _had to ruin the day for them. She bowed towards the ladies of Zaragoza before apologizing to them.

"I am very sorry, but it is getting late and we must go back before our own home Circus come looking for us" Gia's face fell when she figured out Rita had to go. The jaguar looked back at the lioness who merely smiled and patted the younger female's head.

"Don't vorry. I come an' visit with cubs!" she exclaimed, giving her friend one last hug before departing. As they left, Safēda said nothing. She was so angry. That stupid tiger had not only yelled at her when she tried to help him get out, but he aslo got Iggy stuck in a hoop! As if that wasn't enough, he had the guts to actually call her _crazy _and- Ooooh! She'd get him! Stupid tiger! Idiot, stupid, rude-

"_Net uvazheniya. Nikuda ne godit·sya. Nadmennyĭ . Rude syn lyeoparda_" she spoke out loud in Hindi. She froze when all eyes, via Safi, looked at her. And she knew why. Safēda rarely like to speak in her father's tongue. She only spoke when she was in deep sorrow or ryally ticked off. Rita was the first to speak.

"Vaaaaaaaaaaaaat?" she asked. Safēda stuttered before Safi turned.

"Rita, get the cubs back to the tent and make up a story. I have to talk with Safēda" The lioness nodded and moved the cubs forward towards their Circus tent. Iggy looked back, a sad look on his face. He had gotten Safēda in trouble with mother again. Sighing he looked back. He was going to say sorry.

0O0

Shida watched the scenery from afar. She chuckled lightly to herself. She knew Safēda could have anasty temper but nothign prepared her for what she saw. She had circled the Circus a few times, trying to note everything going on to give Solide a good report and had been witness to quite a spectacle. The male tiger and Safēda clearly did not get along whatsoever, which was good news. When she saw the crew from _Fantaisie _leave, she eagerly follwed them, for she had to go back and report what she saw back to Kaden.

She had to be careful in avoiding to be spotted by Safi and the white tigress when they had stopped. Out of pure curiousity she got closer.

"But Safi-"

"Safēda, we've been through this. You can't just start a fight with every hoop jumper just because Alexei never taught you" the tigress flinched and her ears drooped.

"I can't stand it, Safi! I hate dancing and singing! I want to jump a hoop! Besides, that tiger was asking for it! He just yelled at me after I TRIED to HELP him!" Safi nodded and walked around Safēda. Suddenly, she snatched the tigress' tail in her mouth, pulling it tightly. Safēda snarled and turned to swipe at her mother. Safi then let go of her tail and watched as the tigress kept it close.

"That's how he felt when you pulled his tail. A tail is important to our kind, Safēda. It helps us keep balance, look complete, feel complete, feel like a _cat_" Safi explained. "Out tails are very sensitive and, like what you just did, it's in our blood to see everyone who pulls it like that are enemies. He sees you like that _now_. But he will come to know that you merely wanted to help him and attacking him like that won't help him see you in a different light at all" Shida watched as the tigress merely scowled. Safi sighed and laid a paw on her face.

"I know you hate him right now, Safēda, but we all have to stick together. As animals, remember that" Safi spoke before leaving the tigress by herself. Shida smirked. She _so _felt like getting up in Safēda's face and tease her but she had work to do. As she snook away and started running off towards the same hill she left earlier that day, she started to think about how stupid Safi's lesson was. A cat's tail was only it's weakness if the cat _wanted _it to be. That's what Kaden taught, and it made sense all the more.

As she arrived on the hill, she found Solide, in all of his glory, waiting for her. She nuzzled him first before telling him of everything she saw. The interaction between the two circuses, of mainly Vitaly and of Safēda, the pep-talk Safi gave the tigress and anything else she felt was of importance. Solide smirked.

"Wow, you had quite a day"

"It wasn't easy" she teased her mate before running off. "Last one to the circus is a rotten bird- egg!" she yelled. Solide blinked before smiling. He waited.

"Three, two, one.." before sprinting off, in no time he caught up with his mate and kept at a slow pace in order to run with her. Time sliek this were rare for the both of them and they liked to cherish it for as long as possible. Finally the two arrived at the Circus and snook in, running towards Kaden's car. Shida burst in just as Grace was giving her own report on the animals being hidden on the other side. The lioness turned back to frown at them.

"I am _bu-sy_" she chimed. Shida paid no mind and Solide came in after her.

"Sir! News from _Circo Zaragoza_ and _Fantaisie_!" the cheetah exclaimed. The lion's ears perked and his head lifted.

"Do tell"

Once both Shida and Solide had finished their tale, Kaden immediately got up and paced. This was good news. At least now he knew there were some in both Circus that disliked one another. He smiled and looked at his three pupils.

"Well, it looks like we're ahead schedule. The plan will be in motion _very _soon"

**0O0**

**So it looks like our villains are plotting again, and it seems as if I have come back from the dead! I apologize to ALL who've been waiting for an update. These past few days have been hectic with no inspiration, lack of creativity, friends and family visiting, cleaning the house, and my brother's birthday. But I assure to all who love this story - I WILL NEVER GIVE UP ON IT!**

**I won't ever discontinue CS! This is my second longest fanfic and I do not plan for it to end like the 1st one- Completely Mary-Suish and discontinued. That is a big NO NO for me because I LOVE the characters. I wanted to add more to this chapter but considering that it is 12:07 AM here I'm just getting sleepy. Thanks to everyone like _Funkywatermelon_, _LiFeoFaDrEaMeR_, and _VBeast _who gave me wonderful ideas and urged me to go on during my Major writer's block. Hopefully the next Chapters from here on out don't take as long but I have no gurantees. I really enjoyed writing the rest of this chapter, and I just needed som Madagascar in me as well as some time off from completely going overboard and so here is Chapter 19!**

**Hopefully you guys are happy with this Chapter and don't mind the mistakes. I don't have the brains to go over it without collapsing and not updating this story. And to _Funkywatermelon_ - Thank you for being with me all these days and encouraging me to continue planning and trying new ideas, that really helped and boosted my ego as a write on ^^ And I am so sorry for not putting some CXS and MXG here. I promise to you, because you never gave up on me, the next Chapter is dedicated to you!**

**I love you all! Thanks for sticking with me! MUA!**

**- UzuriCasca**

**P.S - What do you guys think about Safēda so far? And her anger problem? Why does she hate hoops so much? Hehe! You'll find out soon! :3 Don't you just LOVE the tension here? X3**


	20. Boys, Boys, Boys

**Chapter XX - Boys, Boys, Boys**

Stefano couldn't wait any longer. He just HAD to get out of there. He was having a good time, so it made him feel bad that he was ditching both his Circus AND his guests to see _her_. He was surrounded in guilt when he was already a mile away from Zaragoza. They probably did not notice his going because of Safi and her group as well as the cubs. Vitaly had somehow evaded from following him and had disappeared. It was then when he realized that he could go away to see Catalina again.

Sure, to others, excluding Bruno, she was _just _a Sea Lioness, but to him, she was way more than that. He hadn't seen a beauty like her for a long time. Heck, he has hardly seen any other female Sea Lions until back when the humans still owned the Circus and they had made their show next to a European Zoo. Sure, the girls there were rude and french but he never saw any light from them shining.

Catalina's light and shone the brightest than any other girl when he had seen her. She was a thing of beauty, Mama Mia had certainly done a great job in giving the world this beautiful specimen. The Sea Lion soon found himself swooning and walking in circles as if someone had hit his head with a hammer. Catalina sure did.

He finally arrived at the camp grounds of _Circa de Flora_ and was it beautiful! He watched with wide eyes as the animals of their Circus did their stuff, the humans popping in every minute or so, helping the animals and sometimes performing with them. He would sometimes look around for a delicate little Sea Lioness running around, smiling or be on the lookout for Burno. Something told Stefano that the macho Sea Lion, who was much bigger by the way, didn't like him there. Something else told him he didn't want him_ near _Catalina.

He was so caught up in finding either Sea Lion that he didn't notice the reason for his affections creeping up behind him, a big smile on her cute face.

"Boo" she whispered, making Stefano yelp in fright and jump. Catalina gasped and pulled Stefano from under the equipment he had accidentally knocked over when he had jumped. "Oh, sorry, Stefano. I didn't mean to-"

"No-a! It's okay-a!" Stefano said quickly, helping the pretty Sea Lioness stand up on her flippers. Catalina beamed and took his flipper, making Stefano blush.

"Come on then! I know a place where the othrs can't see us! Even Bruno can't find us if he tries!" the Sea Lioness lead him to the other side of the tent, where there were less animals and humans found altogether. Only she and a few others knew about this place but she doubted it would be occupied at this time. Lucy was practicing her jump roping, Loiue was helping Michelle with her hoof and Lucero was trying out new styles for her paint.

She then looked back at Stefano and put a flipper to her mouth, signaling for him to be quiet and squeezed through a small hole into an old car that was supposedly used for extra beds and utilities the humans used for the animals in case something went wrong or missing. She helped Stefano get through and she lighted a small lamp.

"Ooooh! I am so glad you came!" she said excitedly, reaching for a small box. Stefano stuttered.

"Y-you are-a?". He couldn't believe it. Was she actually feeling the same way he felt about her? Oh but how? What about his drove her crazy? What about him made her take precaution and made her chose this comfy, secret place from prying eyes to see? He needed to now. He liked her. He really REALLy liked her. Catalina smiled and nodded eagerly. Taking the box out and taking out small Chocolate bites and putting them in her mouth to enjoy.

"Oh yeah! I've been wanting to know how your flipper was" Stefano's face fell slightly. He knew it was too good to be true, but at least she cared. He moved his former broken flipper to show her.

"Oh! It is-a feeling much-a better! I feel-a like a new Stefano!" he exclaimed, posing a bit to emphasize how he felt. Catalina stared at him. Stefano mentally sweated. Did she find this weird? Oh no. No no no no! But Catalina merely laughed and held out another chocolate.

"This is for you. You deserve it! That was awesome!" she commented, still giggling. Stefano took the chocolate and popped it into his mout. It was soooooooo good! He had tasted chocolate on numerous occasions, many different flavors but this chocolate seemed like the best one he has ever had.

"Ooooh! This is-a very good! What do you-a call this chocolate-a?" Catalina blushed and put the box away.

"I made it" Stefano gaped at her.

"Really? This is-a _favoloso_! I love it! Did you really make it!" Catalina's blushed deepened and she nodded. "Wow-a!" he exclaimed, swallowing the creamy texturized chocolate bite.

"It is my mother's recipe. Humans don't know I make it, but they always find it in their rooms after a fantastic show. They think one of their kind did it but it's really me. They hardly ever give us something nice after a show so it's a bit disappointing that this doesn't help them see that. But if they find out they would prbably think that it was poisoned and sell me" she explained sadly, tucking the small box back under a fluffy pink pillow.

Stefano gasped and lowered his head sadly. How cruel could humans be. Chocolate as delicious as that forged from a poison? How ridiculous! Stefano gave Catalian a pat on her shoulder.

"Don't be-a sad. This chocolate is-a good! I think my-a home Circus would love-a chocolate lika-a this-a!" he smiled, trying to cheer her up. Stefano beamed when Catalina smiled.

"Thank you Stef, that means alot, you have NO idea"

"I am-a sure I-a do" he replied. Catalina raised an eyebrow at his statement but shrugged it off. Stefano's face fell slightly again. Did he say something wrong? Catalina felt his flipper and looked at him with curious blue eyes. Stefano noticed that they resembled pretty, strictly circle-like gems.

"Hey, why did you come? Not that I'm not glad, Bruno's been over my back and the schedule has been tough but-" Moment of truth. Stefano sighed and looked at her, a big smile on his face.

"I just wanted to-a see you again-a. I also wanted to-a congratulate you-a for being fourth place-a! You did amazing!" Catalina blushed once more and giggled.

"Oh Stefano! You're making me blush! It's too much, really!"

"No, it's not-a" Stefano replied, grinning widely. He reached into his frilly pierrot and took out a small, but highly beautiful flower. It resembled an Orchid but it had a bright pruple color, with three brightly yellow-colored anthers. "This is-a called a Cattleya Orchid. It-a reminded me of your-a name-a. Catalina" he said, giving her the beautiful flower. Catalina stared at it, admiring the flower's beauty and the coincidence of how her name could resemble one with such beauty and perfection.

"Oh... Stefano, I- I can't accept it, it's too beautiful! I-"

"CATALINA! Where are you! Ringmaster wants us! He's got tuna for us this time! Come on! I want to share mine with you!" Catalina tried her best not to frown at Bruno's voice. Stefano got nervous. If that huge Sea Lion caught them _now_- he didn't want to think about it. He gulped silently as Catalina stared out from the small hole that had entered in, trying to see if she could spot the big Sea Lion in order to come out and distract him so that Stefano can go without hearing Bruno's threats and rants.

"Okay... looks safe. I'm going to come out and distract him while you go. I can't stand for Bruno to tell you stuff. I'm so sorry... and thank you for the flower!" She quickly went through the hole as Stefano was about to tell her the reason that flower _made _him think of her- not just the name. Darn it! He should have said more when he gave it to her!

"Ah, Catalina! There you are! I was looking everywhere-"

"Hiya Bruno! Did you say _tuna_! Let's go!" He heard Catalina say loudly before hearing Bruno's gruff voice again.

"Uhm, where have you've been, Catalina? You look so rush-"

"I just heard 'Tune' and I was, like, WHAT! No way! Not TUNA! And so I, like-" catalina went into detail about how she fakely felt about hearing that their ringmaster had wanted them and Stefano could only sadly sigh as he heard Catalina's sweet voice grow fainter and fainter by the minute. He sighed sadly when he could no longer hear her voice and squeezed out from the hole.

Looking both ways, he sneaked back to his regular hiding spot before Catalina found him and saw that most of the animals were on break now. They were either inside, eating or talking with each other outside while the humans made sure that the grounds were secure and tightly closed. Stefano then waddled his way out fo the grounds and soon he was free from being found out again. Looking back at _Circa de Flora _he only wished that he could've brought Catalina to meet the others. Maybe next time?

With a heavy heart, he waddled towards his home Circus.

0O0

Marty knew instantly he had to fix things. Once the guests that left, with a noticable tension in the air, he knew something had either 1) Gone wrong or 2) Someone is mad. But MAD. He watched as the two lionesses and the white tigress left the cubs. He noticed that Safēda the white tigress made noticable peeks back. Her blue eyes wandering to her side and quickly looking back to the front. She seemed edgy in a way.

The Zebra merely shook it off and noticed that the sky and noticably gone darker than before. How much time had passed. He trotted over to Stefano's car, which he thought it weird that the Sea Lion was not in, and checked the small clow clock his friend had.

_10:41_

Holy- he turned to run. This was the time she got out! He knew it! This was his chance to say sorry! The others who watched him run thought it weird that Marty was such in a hurry. What could he possibly be up to? But the animals merely shrugged and went on to get ready for bed. Vitaly climbed into his car when he saw Marty run towards a distant hill. He raised and eyebrow.

Something told the tiger to follow Marty, but then again... he sniffed angrily and closed the car door softly enough so the others couldn't tell that he was angry. That tigress had to be taught some manners, she was infuriating him by the minute. She acted like she was above him which not only urked him but she dared to speak as if he was hurting Iggy.

It was a accident, he had done hardly anything to cause it. He was even willing to HELP. He growled silently as he took a knife out of his rack and started to fling it. Seeing it as potential therapy, he got another and threw. And then another. And another.

The night was cold and he felt as if he should have brought a lamp with him. The situation was worse for Marty. He wasn't inside his car, which made the cold feel icy, like actual ice. Whenever the wind blew his way his teeth would just chatter. What if the Zebra female wasn't there? She couldn't possible be out in the cold like this right? He skidded to a halt when he finally came to the same hill that he came to every night since he had accidentally offended the Zebra girl.

He held his breath when he finally spotted her. She was just outside of the tent, looking down and sad. She bent down to get the grass out of the earth and started munching. She hated to be outside in such terrible weather but what could Gabby do? No one wanted her inside so she waited while everyone was asleep to go back in without being ridiculed any longer. It also gave her an enormous amount of time to think to herself, thinking of a time when she was at least bit happy.

She only knew her mother for a short time but the female Zebra had still cared for her. While the other calfs teased her and the other Zebras commented about how ugly she was, her mother would snap at them and send them away. She would turn to her and nuzzle her, telling her that she was beautiful and someone would see her in that light, no matter how many of them teased her.

She was bought by her very frist Circus that night. She cried for her mother but her mother was being held by the humans, she could see her mother's frantic brown eyes, the female Zebra screamed to her: "NO! Not my baby! Please! Not my Gabrielle!". Gabby sniffed and watched as the humans put her in a crate, covered by a towel.

"Mama!" she would cry out. "Mama! Don't let them take me! MAMA!" but she could no longer be heard. She felt very alone. Her mother was gone and a terrible future had awaited for her. Many had won her trust only to be embarrassed and shunned away and tricked. She was used and then thrown away. This was her _sixth _home. Natasha had been the only one who was understanding and welcomed her in but the others- they were all the same as her past Circus mates: Cruel, rude, heartless.

She tried her best not to whimper and cry. She only gasped when she heard a twig snapped and her neck shot up, looking at the same Zebra she had been who thought she was a ghost because her pelt was _white_. She sniffed and held her head up high.

"What are you doing here, Zebra? Go away!" she said harshly, she didn't want to know who this guy was or where he came from and she was certainly not going to take anything from him at this hour! Marty stuttered for a bit.

She was so- _beautiful_.

Gabby sniffed and gritted her teeth, her eyes shining, giving notice that she was about to cry. How dare he GAWP at her! She was about to turn and run until she heard him speak:

"Sorry, It's just, last time we met, I offended you... in some way and I want to understand why. I don't, so I just wanted to say that I was sorry and if you could please tell me what I said that made you so upset... please?" Marty spoke softly. Gabby tried her best not to cry. He was speaking so politely to her, so concerned, so... _honest_. But many have spoken to her like that in the past, and she paid dearly for it each time. Why should now be any different?

"You thought I was a ghost. I hate the mention of my pelt being white" she answered in the same harsh tone. Marty sighed and stood next to her, something that completely freaked her out. "Wh-what-"

"Look, I don't know why you don't like your pelt. It's is BEAU-TI-FUL!" Marty exclaimed. "But still, I am VERY sorry for what I said to you. I didn't know and I promise you I won't make that mistake twice. Is that alright with you? Can you forgive me?" Gabby hesitated. This Zebra sounded like he was really honest. But she couldn't trust anyone. He sounded sincere, so caring. She couldn't fall for that again. He was apologizing to her, no one ever did that. She can't fall for such kind tricks! She couldn't!

She looked into his green eyes- so... pretty. NO! She can't apologize! But what if she doesn't and he hates her like the others? What if he is just like the others! She couldn't stand to be made fun of my TWO circuses now! She couldn't! She furrowed her brow and stared into Marty's eyes with anger.

"GO AWAY!" she screamed before running into the tent, crying her eyes out. Marty wanted to stop her but the presence of two red eyes told his to high tail it out of there. He turned to run, but not before yelling out:

"I'M SORRY!" and running back to the hill and back to the Circus.

0O0

Alex and Gia laughed to themselves with Gloria and Melman. Gloria spoke with such sweetness that it made Melman want to melt. "Man, that Iggy was such a cutie! And so was sweet Alaine and cool Seymour! They are really good cubs! I wish they could have stayed longer!" Gia joined in.

"Me too! Iggy and Seymour are sweethearts and Alaine is so cute! I just wanted to play with her pink bow all day!" she giggled. Alex and Melman merely smirked. They admite, they liked the cubs. It was good preactice... woah did they both just thought about kids? The males exchanged looks with each other. Melman looked at Gloria. HIS Gloria. She looked positively happy, and the cubs only stregthened his theory that she wanted some of her own, even if he himself could never give them to her.

Alex thought among the same levels but was actually scared. Sure, Vitaly would be going knife-throwing on his tail but the idea of being a father had scared him. He himself had great and loving parents but he was seperated from them ever since he was barely even a baby and hd not met them until he was a full adult. Without the kind words of his mother and the inspiration from his father, he had no way of knowing whether or not he would be a good parent. Though, from what he saw, Gia would be an excellent mother one day if given the chance to have cubs of her own.

The two males sighed which caught the attention of the girls. Gloria laughed. "And what are YOU two thinkin' 'bout?" Melman shook out of his daze and merely yawned.

"It's getting late and I'm tired" he spoke, trying to hide the fact that he was in deep thought about having kids. Gloria bought it and yawned as well.

"Me too. Come on, Melman, let's hit the sack" she said before walking towards her car. Melman nodded quickly, running after the beautiful hippo.

"Coming honey!" he exclaimed. Alex laughed and crossed his arms, almost forgetting that Gia was there.

"And you, lion guy?" she asked, putting a hoop around his neck and pulling it towards her. "What's your excuse?" Alex laughed nervously before answering.

"I was just thinking about the cubs y'know. They were really... something" Gia laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Yes! They were jumpy and so full of energy! Just like me when I was cub!" she exclaimed, letting go of her grip on the hoop. Alex chuckled and took it off.

"Yeah.." he looked at Gia who simply stood there, smiling up at him. She admittingly put butterflies in his stomach and made his heart skip a beat. She was the one and Alex was sure of it. He held her small paws in his and leaned as she did. Nothing could possible ruin-

"ALEX!"

"MARTY!" the lion roared when the Zebra skidded to a halt and saw what they were up to. The Zebra grinned sheepishly.

"So I guess I ruined the night of three people now?" Alex gave him a glare.

"You bet you did and I- wait. Three?" the lion questioned. Gia leaned foward.

"What do you mean Marty?" and the Zebra sadly explained his tale. About meeting the female Zebra when they first went into the tent, and then his encounter with her today and how she reacted to everything he had said. Once or twice he had asked gia if he had possibly said anythign that could offend any girl and the Jaguar shook her head. Alex felt sorry for the guy. He just made a lady _cry_. Alex would be upset too if he made Gia cry too. But the way Marty described the girl... she sounded afraid, scared, inflicted.

"Look, Marty, I think you need to approach this in a different way" Alex explained. Marty raised an eyebrow at his friend.

"What do you mean Alex? I was NICE! It was like being nice hurt her... should I be mean?"

"NO!" Gia exclaimed loudly, frightening both Alex, who was going to say 'Yes', and Marty. "Don't do it! Maybe she is afraid of other Circus animals?" Marty thought for a bit before beaming.

"Yeah! That's GOTTA be it!" he exclaimed before giving Gia and Alex a hug and trotting off. "Thanks guys! You're the best!" Alex grinned while Gia hugged him.

"Was that worth not kissing?" she asked him. Alex thought for a bit, earning a flick on his nose.

"Yeah, yeah. It was. I'm happy we could help him. He's my best friend!"

"I can tell" Gia giggled, kissing the lion's cheek.

0O0

Safēda shook the water off from her white coat. The water on her fur felt refreshing, she felt as if she deserved this bath. As the shampoo ran from head to tail, her fur puffed. She enojyed bathing. Unlike Iggy and Rita who simply did not like water at all. Safi found it neccessary so she put up with her ancestral hate for water and delt with it like a TRUE lion.

The tigress was then dried up and she was put in her pen where she slept with the other felines. She calmly slept between the tigress twins Pheobe and Nadia, two flashy girls who loved the spotlight. They shared gossip and laughed all day, much to everyone's annoyance. But right now, they were sleeping, which was a blessing. She needed it.

She was about to close her eyelids and start to snore blissfully until something poked her shoulder. She opened one eye to see a wet Safi standing over her. The lioness beckonded her head out to a desloated part of the pen and Safēda followed her mother. Once they were well away, Safi sighed and looked out into the night.

"Safēda... do you remmeber your grandfather, Alexei?" she explained. The white tigress' fur puffed, her tail twicthed, her ears hung back and she unknowingly bared her feline fangs.

"Why do you ask?" she spat angrily. Safi excused this behavior. Safēda had always acted like that whenever talk of her grandfather came about. No matter what she tried, she couldn't change her. The lioness turned her head towards the tigress who was still in her offense position, as if she was going to attack.

"I was just wondering about him. I looked into that male's eyes, he had fiery green eyes-"

"Why should I care what that male's eyes looked or what what color they were?" the tigress spat again. Safi sighed and stroked her daughter's head.

"Peace, Saffy. I just looked at them and I saw Alexei..." she turned towards the tigress. "I believe that Alexei may have trained him before he was sold to us" Safēda merely laughed, almost waking eveyrone up, but thanks to Iggy's uncle's loud snoring, that was nearly impossible to do.

"That would explain so much. Why I hate him, why I dislike him, why he let Iggy jump through a hoop that small" Safi sighed once more. She spoke nothing more until she looked back at her daughter. Safēda was a good tigress, but so many things bothered her it was amazing that most of the Circus loved her. Suddenly the tigress jerked her head upwards, surprising Safi. "It sounds JUST like him. I hate him. Him and every other tiger he's associated with!" she snarled lowly. Safi shook her head.

"Does this mean you hate your father and mother?" Safēda bit her lip, regretting what she had just said,

"O-of course not! I just-"

"Saffy you're being prejudice without even giving him a good chance. Your first meeting was rather heated so give it some time to calm down. Next time you see the tiger, treat him with respect. No sarcasm" the tigress sighed before laying her head down onto Safi's paws.

"Fine. But if he gives me one-"

"You still won't do it. Show him that you do not want to fight" The tigress merely rolled her blue eyes before smiling.

"Okay. Just let me sleep" satisfied Safi nodded.

"Of course" and the two females drifted into sleep.

**0O0**

**This Chapter is for you, _Funkywatermelon_! ;3 Thanks for helping me through my writer's block aegg egging me on every single day! XD Had to add Safi and Saffy's moment there to add some clarity! Hope you like it still! :3**


	21. Dreams Of Woe

**Chapter XXI - Dreams Of The Past**

_"But Alexei"_

_"No! This tigress has failed in her duties! How am I supposed to have a legacy when all of my cubs as well as their cubs are FEMALE?"_

_"Father, I know I am still young but you have to understand. They are all eager to please you, just give them a chance-"_

_"No! I gave them a chance! I will not teach ANY of them the hoop!" Safēda watched as her grandfather exchanged angry words with both her mother and Safi. The big half Siberian, half Bengal tiger spat at anything they said and roared whenever they said otherwise. Once or twice he threatened to slash them and the cubs if they did not quiet down._

_"Alexei, please, understand that you are scaring your grandcubs and they only want to be happy and for you to be happy-"_

_"Give me a male an I will be be happy! But _NO _you, Laṛakī, have given nothing but females! You're a failure like your mother and your stepmothers! I had to train a MALE cub that wasn't even MINE! You Bengals have bad blood!" the tiger roared, lashing out. Safi snarled and helped her sister-tigress to try and block him from the cubs. Safēda wanted to mew, to cry out for her mother to help her, to cover her as well but she couldn't find the words to say. _

_Laṛakī spoke angrily. "I don't give a cat's paw if you ACCEPT us or not, the humans WILL train them to jump the hoops and you will have a wonderful legacy of great-grandcubs to be happy about when your gone!" Alexei roared and held out his paw, uncheathing his claws. Safēda only realized too late that her mother had been slashed across the face. The small white cub forgot everything and ran over to her mother._

_"MOMMY!" she called, finally finding her voice, but she suddenly found herself being held under a giant male paw. She tried to escape from her grandfather's grip but to no avail. She watched in terror as her mother opened her eye. Nothing. Safi roared, scared out of her wits and tried in vain to save her sister's eye, licking away the ugly wound. _

_"Safēda, you're mother is hurt but she will be fine" Safi assured her while she kept on licking, the gold lioness glared at Alexei. "Let the cub go Alexei!" she commanded but the male merely sneered. _

_"Yes you and what army?"_

_"_MY_ army" someone spoke behind him and Alexei looked back to see that the other Circus animals were ganging up on him. Safi's husband, Justinian, lead the group, his huge brown mane dominating over all. He was the leader of the Circus and he was certainly not going to take Alezei's demeanor any longer. Alexei rolled his eyes and removed his paw from the cub's back. Safēda cried instantly and ran towards her mother, mewing and licking the wound, trying in vain to make it feel better. The cub could feel the salty tears that ran down her muzzle and only watched as her mother shook violently and flinched to every touch. Safi sadly looked at the cub._

_She guided the small female away from her mother and held her tightly, the cub needed to see no more of this. Her mother was blind now. She was useless for the humans to use, and now, they would probably seel her off to the local Zoos in Berlin. Safēda would never see her mother again. _

0O0

Safēda shot her head upwards, gasping hard. It was just a dream. A flashback. A horrible dream. She sniffed silently and scooted closer to Safi who was sound asleep. That night was a living nightmare. She lost her mother forever and it was because of _him_. He was an evil tiger, she hated the hoops, the hoops brought her mother's downfall and brought evil onto her grandfather. If the hoop never existed, was there a chance he would have been good?

She sniffed and hid her face under her paws. She hated the feeling of powerlessness. She watched her mother get _hurt_. She watched as the claws slashed across her face, injuring her deeply and ruinign not only her own life but the lives of her cubs as well.

Her sisters were sold immediately, because they didn't want harm coming onto them and because they had regular coats but they kept her because she was of white pelt. Alexei disowned her and never failed to lash at her for her ignorance, for her stupidity, for her lack of sense, for being _female_. She was glad when the old tiger was sold off to be mated to once again. He would never return but the damage had been done. She no longer had a mother, or sisters, she had no one.

Safi could never replace her mother, no matter how much the lioness tried to keep the memories away.

The damage was done.

0O0

Vitaly's dreams had never been so real than it was that same night. He was alone, as usual, in his car. He rested along the hammock that kept him from sleeping on the ground, and kept turning, side to side. He growled, and then his claws would show and then, instantly it would stop. then the same form of viciousness would start again. He was fighting. Not with himself. Not with anyone he loved. No, he fought _him_.

_0O0_

_"YOU LIAR!" he roared angrily as he pounced onto the brown lion named Adui. "She loves me! NOT YOU!" the lion merely smirked before throwing the tiger off, and quickly coming up behind him. His claws unsheathing and trying to get a good strike. Vitaly knew better, his instincts told him to duck, and when he did, he found that Adui had striked the wooded wall of the car and now his claws were now stuck. Perfect._

_He was ready to give that stupid lion the last blow until he felt someone hit his back. He feel down with enough force to shake his car. Growling, he turned to scratch the one who dared interrupt him and found his wife, Irina, on top of him, tears in her blue eyes. She was angry, _mortified_, that Vitaly would even do such a thing. She got off him and helped Adui with his claws._

_Vitaly got up and looked at the two with shock. "Irina... tell him... tell him you love me. No him" he begged but the tigress did not falter. The only look she gave him was pain. She stepped foward and laid a delicate paw on his cheek._

_"Vitaly. You were always a friend to me. And I love you, but as a friend. Nothing more" Vitaly felt his heart break. No no no! This couldn't be true! He heard the other animals whispering in hushed voices and he felt the presence of others behind him. He looked behind him to see Stefano and Gia, followed by the triplets, the elephants and Sonya. They were witnessing to his greatest defeat. Even worse than the accident he had. He looked back to face Irina and looked at her through his eyes, they were pleading that was she said wasn't true, that she loved him as a mate, not as a friend._

_"No... Irina... ven I asked-"_

_"I said yes because I thought I was in love too, Vitaly. It was my mistake. I loved Adui, not you" Vitaly's once powerful frame, now delicate and brittle, shook with shock. Those words that she spoke, it was slowly tearing him apart. "You must believe me Vitaly, I never had any intention to hurt you like this. It just happened, as much as I tried to push it away I-" her voice failed and broke, and then she laid her paw onto his head. "I am with cubs, Vitaly. They are not yours... I mated with Adui" he felt like breaking down. Breaking down in front of Irina, in front of his friends, in front of _everyone._ "I will understand if you never want to talk to me again. Friends don't hurt friends like this, I am so sorry"_

_Vitaly started to sob, Gia wamted to run over to him, to comfort her brother figure but was held back by Stefano who, too, had tears in his eyes. "Irina, how could you-a do that to him-a? Adui? We trusted-a you. Vitaly trusted-a you" he spoke, his mustache-like whiskers losing it's thickness and becoming droopy. Irina held back tears. She never meant to break so many things at once. She looked at Gia who, once catching her look, turned away, refusing to look at her. No. Not Gia, too. _

_"Gia-"_

_"No! I trusted you to not fall for Adui! You PROMISED me! You promised you would not hurt Vitaly" the cub cried and ran out of the car. Stefano ran after her, calling her name. Irina's world fell apart as she looked back at Vitaly who was now on the ground, shivering, he was not Vitaly the Tiger anymore. Looking down at her firming stomach, she looked at her love, her glorious mate, Adui. He understood her pain._

_"Let's go" she said and the two felines ran away that night. Vitaly never spoke to anyone for weeks. He became obssessed with borscht, eating it again and again. Gia and Stefano tried to cheer him up, only for the tiger to snarl at them and cause them to run away. It pained him to scare his two most beloved friends... _

0O0

Vitaly's eyes opened wide and he gasped for air. Standing upright he held his head. It began to hurt, he felt like breaking down, something that had not happened in a few months. The dream spoke to him in a manner he did not want to understand. Not that he could, he couldn't understand his dreams. The fact that Irina had actually thought she loved him... what could he have done to make that_ true_? Shaking his head, he laid it back onto the pillow.

No, the result would have been the same. She would have still mated with him, would still have left him, still would have...

Vitaly snarled once more. He had to stop this foolishness at once. Stop thinking about Irina and these stupid feelings. He wasn't suppose to feel like this anymore- what in the HECK made him think like this? He growled, putting pressure of both of his paws onto his head. These voices that spoke- he had to stop LISTENING! He grabbed a knife and shot it across the car, making impact with the same wall he had pinned Adui once to.

He got up to get it and found the claws marks Adui had left on it that night. With one paw, he touched it. Suddenly remembering all of what had TRULY happened, what had caused the fight and Irina's betrayal to him to go public to the others. Shoving the feelings that threatened to overcome him once more, he decided to go outside.

He found the night air to be very refreshing, almost like a bath. He closed the door to his car slowly and quietly so as to not disturb his comrades from their own dreams, if they were happy. He walked over to a desloated part of the grounds, where a lone hill gave way to entering the other Circus grounds, of their rivals. He sat down, feeling quite at ease and laid back, watching as the scenery changed from the Circus and grass to the moon and stars. He smiled softly.

The stars were beautiful indeed, he loved them. That info he never shared with anyone else, not even Irina or Gia, or even Stefano who continually poked at him sometimes ot reveal where he would go sometimes. He watched as the moon shone brightly and watched as the stars twinkled in the night. He noticed that some made shapes, and would catch himself telling a story.

Ah, there he saw one. A tiger. This tiger was fierce and strong, this tiger loved everyone and did everything to protect them, this tiger was the leader and all of the stars envied those who made his form. His teacher had once told him the story of the great Tiger. He never really haad a name, though. it was just "Tiger". He preferred that way though, it actually symbolizzed somehting to him, even as a little cub. A Tiger had to be fierce when need be, strong when looked upon, he had to love everyone close to him, and protected them all from harm, he had to be a _leader_.

He may lack certain qualities but at least he had the nobelest of them. Turning to his side, he slept happily, with the knowledge of the great Tiger protecting his dreams from the past that haunted him to this very day.

0O0

Alex could think of nothing but Gia. Sure, he had managed to get a kiss on the cheek but it was on the cheek nonetheless. He felt fireworks when she did, that was for sure, but did she? He groaned and got ahold of his fluffly pillow and held it over his head. He didn't care, he was going to suffocate himself to death. He was tired of continually being interrupted, heck, he bet even in his dreams it would mess up!

Turning, he found a picture that Gloria had taken with a human camera that the Penguins, plus the monkeys, had _*taken*_ from the humans to _*borrow*_. It had enough space on the screen to take a picture of everyone, and he literally meant _everyone _wearing their Circus Afro. Gloria had been more than happy to take one with each of their new Circus family, and, on the request of Gia, she had taken one of him and Gia, giving thumbs up to the camera.

Smiling, he took the picture and stared at it. Gia looked so very pretty, with her pink paint on her spots, making her spots look neon in the fluorescent light. She had her colorful Circus Afro, for an added effect and Alex himself had the afro one, hiding his mane to make it seem he was literally a Circus lion. The two were smiling and Gia looked as if she was laughing.

His eyes trailed off from the picture only to find himself staring at the other pictures Gloria and the others had taken. A few had Stefano, a huge grin on his face while he was ready for launch in the cannon, as well as Marty who had a determined, if not serious, look on his face beside him. The zebra's green eyes had a somewhat glint in them, as if this was his destiny. To be part _of the flock_ as Alex remembered his friend telling him. He chuckled lightly and turned back up.

He was now staring at the cieling. He had to keep his mind occupied, make it tire and finally say: _'Hey Alex! Let's go to sleep, mm 'kay?'_ though that may not be as easy as it had sounded, sadly. He wished it was, though. He was starting to get really relly annoyed. If he couldn't sleep nice, how the heck was he suppose to do a good job in doing their new act?

The cubs had helped them decide that they would do a sort of balancing act, before they set the fireworks and throw paint in red, white and blue. That was only the beginning, but he still needed for the rest fo the Circus animals to find American related things to put in the show. Obviously the American Circuses native would probably look down on them for being so stereotypical but they had four New Yorkers on their side. No one knew how to party like the New York Giants!

Then again, not all of the Circus animals were mean. Like Iggy and his family, they seemed really nice, even though his Circus instincts hounded at him like dogs, he saw that Safi had no real intention of hurting any of them. Still, why did he feel being watched everytime he was associated with them? Sometimes, he would catch different scents around the Circus, though he did not recognize any of them. Not one of them had smelled like Safi and her family, then he started to think deeply about his trust issues.

Vitaly had some big time, so it did not surprise him that Vitaly had been a bit... hostile. I mean, sure, his tail had been pulled and he couldn't help but laugh to himself when he was alone, the sight was simply comical within itself. That white tigress pulling his tail while Rita pulled his legs, and the cub would yell at them to pull harder, all the while making Vitaly yell in pain. Vitaly. Sure, he was really frightened of the tiger, now more than ever since Vitaly had always protected Gia in a sort of brotherly manner, and would do anything to protect her.

Alex blinked as a thought occured to him. As far as he knew, Vitaly still disliked him in a way, and the way he treated the idea of them being together only proved his idea even further. All those failed attempts at kissing... what if Vitaly was behind it all? What if they were being spied on one at a time by the others because Vitaly told them so? After all, he was kinda like the _real _boss of the Circus. The only one who overruled Alex in decision-making was his three friends plus Vitaly, Gia, and probably Stefano if the Sea Lion had actually once disagreed in his ideas.

Shaking his head, he laid his head on his arms as they bended back to give his head a pillow-like lift. He crossed one leg over the other and started to make a tune. Boy was he _so _bored right now. He closed his eyes in the faint hope that he will feel sleepy but as his ear twitched he heard someone walking by his car. In alert, he sat upright and quietly walked over to his door, where he silently slid it open to peek.

He blinked rapidly when he saw a pale lioness sniffing about in the grounds. She sniffed the ground, looked up, sniffed the ground again, then looked around. As she did, her eyes met his and the meeting was brief as she started to slowly walk away. He got out, not midning to close the door and ran after her. She was on high alert now. As she ran, Alex could feel his inner instincts kick in and he found himself on all fours, as was she, and he was quick to keep up.

He jumped, landing on her and using a kick flip his father taught him in Africa and pinned the lioness down. "Who are you?" he question. "Why are you sneaking around my Circus?". Jeez, he sounded alot like Vitaly now. The lioness tried to push him off but sighed in defeat. She looked at him with intense hazel eyes.

"My name's Grace. I just came here to, ah-" she paused, at loss for words before smiling sweetly. "I came here to see where my pet lizard has gone- yeah! His name's Rolando, Rolly for short, and he always likes to go out, I was just following his scent!" She was lyring and they both knew it.

"Look, Grace, whoever you are, you're just lucky I caught you and my friend, Vitaly didn't. He's not so kind to people trespassing on here, I'm giving you a warning to leave quikly" he let go of the lioness but did the exact opposite of what she was told. She merely sat in front of him and circled, eyeing every detail.

"You're a handosme lion. Where did you come from?" Alex flushed a bit.

"I'm from New York. And it's Alex. Alex, like, New York Knicks" he replied. Grace fluttered her eyelashes and flashed a winning smile.

"Alex? What a great name for a great lion. New York you say? I've only been there once, but it is a marvolous place!"

"Uhm... thanks" Alex said, trying to edge away from a starstruck Grace who kept leaning towards him, coming closer and closer. "But, it's late, and I need to go back" Grace's face fell and she pouted.

"Why? Am I not good enough for you?' she said sadly, holding his muzzle. Alex's face was a deep scarlet now.

"Uhhhh..."

"I'm better than that Jaguar girl you hang around with. You need someone of your own kind to hang around with. To laugh and love. I know you don't know me, Alex, but I know you. I know what exactly you have and want and I got it" she smiled. Alex was at loss for words. A lioness he barely knew, heck barely _met_, was actually flirting with him. She wasn't even flirting! She was more like demanding why he liked Gia more than her and he barely knew her.

"Look. I don't know who the heck you are, and you have no right to say that I don't belong with Gia-"

"So that's her name?" the lioness growled, flickering her tail in his nose. She turned away and crossed her arms. "So nothing I can do can change your mind?" she asked, dangerously calm. Alex felt torn for some reason. He didn't want to start problems with this girl, he barely knew her, and it might stregthen hatred between his Circus and hers, whoever it was. Alex finally shook his dead.

"Sorry. I don't know you, and I know that, for whatever reason, you like me but I love Gia. She is the only girl I will ever show my own... er... advances to. And you may think you know me, but you don't. And don't even think about getting close to her or I will eat your heart out!" Alex warned and walked away. Grace smiled to herself.

"Wow. Loyal, brave _and _good-looking" she turned her head to see Alex walking back to his car. Eat her heart out? "You already did" she smiled before running off.

**0O0**

**Well, I gotta say I really really _really _like this Chapter. More or so because of the dreams and a bit of Alex and Grace there. So, you likey? Let me explain this Chapter in a way I have never done before:**

**Saffy's dream was an insight as to why she hates her grandfather. I originally wanted this to be in the last Chapter, but I was sleepy and didn't want to add more so, yeah. But anyways, Saffy believes that the hoop causes Tiger's to lose their sense and her proof is her grandfather and what she was witness to. Her mother became blind and lost an eye, which caused her days in the Circus to be numbered and she was quickly given away to the Zoo. Saffy lost her family, she lost her innocence too. So she's a bit tempered whenever her grandfather is mentioned of. If some naiive enough to call hi a "good" tiger, heh, prepare for the rant of your _life_.**

**I wanted to do another flashback scene for Vitaly, because I miss doing those and it has been a while since the last one. This one was was totally unplanned, and I never planned to make it that way. Just goes to show you what Kelly Clarksoon's song _Because of You_ does to your writing XD Anyways, when the movie (Specifically Stefano) stated that Vitaly's wife ran off after his incident, I would have bet that the fans of Vitaly, as well as the movie, will depict her as a B***h and a heartless crone. I've done something different that will hopefully make you guys think. I made Irina into a tigress none of you would expect, even if Vitaly wouldn't have had his accident, she still would ahve ran off with Adui and her unborn cubs. It's not that she only loved him for his fame. KNowing this only breaks Vitaly's heart since he knew that either way, he would become broken. And judging by how he acted in the movie and how the other's depicted him before the accident, I tried to make him break in a most believable way as possible.**

**Hopefully, you guys will understand Irina's situation as well as Vitaly, because it will become very important later on. I added Grace and Alex's moment to actually give you guys a clear view of how I think/believe Grace would approach Alex. She thinks she's irresitable, so it comes like a brick wall when she realizes Alex doesn't want her but Gia. So now, seeing how faihtful and how honest and straightforward he was, she is more determined than ever to get him. So Grace will be seen flirting will Alex continually now that her mind is set. Gia may be present to see these fliritngs take place, whether they fail or give her the wrong impression _*If You Know What I Mean* _which will cause strain in Alex and Gia's forming relationship.**

***PHEW* DONE! :D I love explaining about Chapters. You guys can comment on how the Liger cubs will look like XD They be so cute! Hopefully I have made you guys understand a bit more on the four Characters discussed here and that it actually makes sense. If it doesn't, I will be glad to tell you via PM, if you wish. But If I feel that I already explained a topic well enough, then I will merely emphasize on it. If you still don't get it after that, well, get someone else better than me to.**

**XD**

**-UzuriCasca :3**

**P.S. - This is Probably my longest Authors note EVAH! XD**

**P.S.S - I DARE you all to listen to this song on YouTube! It's called _Crazy - Claudia_ _Pavel_!This fits what Grace thinks about Alex! It was playing on my shuffle list while I wrote their dialogue XDDDDDDDDDD**


	22. International Love

**Chapter XXII - International Love**

Things have certainly lightened up for the better. Really, Gloria could not have asked for a more perfect situation. Not only has her relationship with Melman blossomed into something she never thought possible, but she had such a blast today. Iggy and his friends were just the cutest! They really made her feel like a young hippo again, but they had also reminded her of something she had forgotten for awhile.

_Kids. _

Sure, she and Melman were of different species, but their love was as evident as any. Nothing could possible spread them apart... was what she thought before Iggy and the other cub's arrival. She actually thought to herself that having children would be very wonderful. She wanted to be a mother so badly, it was a dream she had ever since she was young. She loved babies. _Period_. And judging from the cub's reactions to her, they really liked her and she would be a good mother someday if it was allowed.

But she couldn't possibly bring that up to Melman, sure he would soften her up and either tell her that they don't need kids and would bring up adoption or tell her all the things that could go wrong during her pregancy, just for the sake of keeping her safe. It upseted her but at the same time, she would beam, thinking how much Melman loved her. Maybe he was thinking about this too and trying to find a way to help her with her longing to become what she has always wanted to have. Sighing, she removed the pink tutu from her waist and hung it on her wall of fame. Melman had commented on her wall of pictures and she was most pleased to hear that he thought she was good an photography.

She twirled around in her car, causing it to move from side to side, but she didn't mind that her weight did that. Of course, no one dared to comment on that subject, she would run them over with her butt, and they knew it. Though Gloria never liked it whenever someone had to give a comment on her rather large figure, she found it amazing that Melman would call her a twig. Compared to her, he was the twig, though he was just trying to boost her confidence and it helped. She loved that about Melman, he was honey sweet, and it made her feel nice to know that she had that kind of guy.

Oh! She just had to repay him somehow, maybe a large prescription of Medicines from Canada! He would love those! And maybe a bit of acupuncture needles! He liked those too, even though he pretty much revered to having needles. Acupuncture ones didn't bother him as much. Even though that pretty much made no sense at all but when did it, really? Ooooh! And maybe his own doctor's office with his own equipment so he can use! She'd have to talk to the Penguins about that, but they could hopefully manage. Hopefully. Smiling to herself, Gloria picked up a sweet smelling, pure white orchid Melman had gotten for her after their whole adventure with DuBois.

He was so sweet, really, she didn't deserve him. She didn't even know how she could possible repay him with all of his kindess. Really, he doted on her so mcuh she began to doubt her own ways. She HAD to repay Melman somehow. Someway, maybe she could get the girls to help her. Maybe they would understand her.

Sighing once again, she laid on her small bed made of comfy pillows that Melman had made the Penguins buy for her. She didn't knwo how, but Melman had the tendency to get her whatever she wanted, impossible or not. Yawning, she laid her head on her favorite pillow: A fluffy, heart-shaped one that spelled "Melman". She smiled as she started to dream about the first time she and Melman shared their first romantic kiss.

_0O0_

_Gloria smiled lovingly at Melman. That orchid tiara still on his head and the flowery necklace still around his long neck. She couldn't believe it, all this time she had wondered who her special man would be, only to find that he was there all along. He looked back at her with his green eyes twinkling in delight. _

_She had been so blind to not to have seen it. Melman never treated her harshly, respected her, was always there when she needed help, always tried to comfort her even in the most difficult of spots. He was perfect, he was the ONE. She couldn't believe all that had happened. Alex had found his parents, she had met MotoMoto, who she broke up with as soon as she realized that she loved Melman, Marty became part of a herd that was, well, exactly like him, and melman became a witch doctor._

_It had been so hectic, she couldn't even believe she was experiencing it right now, but she was glad that she was, otherwise, she never would have realized that she belonged with Melman and no one else. _

_Today was hectic in itself. They had saved Alex and his father from the humans and she had rescued Melman from being Volcano-God lunch. She merely relaxed as she walked along the cool lake alongside it's edge with Melman by her side. She smirked at him._

_"Why do you look so serious, honey?" she asked him. The giraffe jumped in suddenly hearing her voice, and calling him _"honey" _most likely. He grinned sheepishly and kicked a small pebble, only to retrieve his hoof and shake it. Sure, he may not have been the strongest of guys but she didn't care. She loved him and that was all that mattered. Putting his hoof back onto the ground he sighed._

_"It's just, I've been waiting for this moment for a _long _time, Gloria. Now that it's actually happening I-" he sighed in defeat. Gloria giggled and cupped his long face in her own hands. She smiled at him gently and Melman could've sworn that Gloria's eyes created fireworks in the night. _

_"I've been waiting for this moment, too, Melman. I never knew who with, but now that I do" she pulled him closer. "Nothing else matters but us" and she laid a gentle kiss on his lips. Melman's eyes widened and his knees started to shake. This was happening. It was ACTUALLY happening! He couldn't believe it, but she was right THERE, and KISSING HIM! When Gloria pulled away she giggled at how he swooned form side to side. _

_"Wow" he gasped, his eyes fluttering. _

_"Melman, baby, calm down" gloria warned as she held her arms, spreading them out to catch a Giraffe who was most likely going to faint. She giggled when he finally did and he merely grinned from ear to ear._

_"Gloria-"_

_"Shhh" she cooed, putting a finger on his lips. "Don't speak. just enjoy the moment" she spoke. And they did. _

0O0

Gloria giggled to herself. It was their first kiss, Melman's first kiss as well, and hers too. It just made her blush just thinking about it. They hadn't kissed like that in awhile, just nips on the cheek and hugging. She sighed. She wished she could kiss him like that again, he would certainly like that.

He belonged to her and she to him. They were both together forever, and she knew it.

0O0

The next day was a tiring one for Catalina. She woke up in her pen with a terrible headache and bits of chocolate around her space. Bruno had lied to her about the Ringmaster calling them to do their act, revealing that he saw her leading Stefano somewhere. Where she did, he did not know, which actually made her sigh with relief, much to the bigger Sea Lion's dismay.

"I don't get why you like him more than me" he complained, a flipper holding hers tightly. "I'm bigger than him, stronger than him, much more _suave_, why do you like him more than me Lina?" he used his petname for her. Catalina sighed and popped a chocolate in her mouth.

"Bruno. We're just friends. You and me, I see Stefano the same way-"

"No you don't" Bruno insisted. "I see the way you look at him, the way you say his name" Cataline stared at him incredulously.

"Bruno, we just _met_!" she cried. "I can't possibly have feelings for him that fast! Besides, I wanted to see how his flipper was! The laste time I saw it, it was horrible!" Bruno merely huffed and did not counter argue. She had a point, still... didn't mean he couldn't look out for competition. Catalina sighed and walked back, hoping that Stefano had not gone from his hiding spot. Wait- what! How could she hope? He was just a friend, it wasn't possible for someone to have a crush on another that fast... right?

She watched as Bruno kept walking without any idea that she had ditched him. She had immediately went into her pen and slept throughout the rest of the day. Now she regretted it, she felt too sleepy and tired. She felt so drowsy- the hay looked good enough, it was teasing her. How can it look so soft just when she woke up? Stupid hay. She pushed some of it aside and yawned.

Removing the handle to her pen so she wouldn't wander off she quickly got down. As she looked around, she saw that everyone else was still asleep. Shurgging, she went towards the human's kitchen and quickly entered the batch of chocolates she had made and watched eagerly for humans who wanted to drink or have a quick snack. Thankfully, no one came this time and the chocolates came out nice and even.

Popping one in her mouth, she chewed sweetly. She wondered if Stefano would like to have taken some with him to share with his friends. An idea exploded in her head and she exclaimed excitedly. "That's it!" she squealed. Hushing herself from making any more noise, she made a few more batches and put them in a little box, made the pink bow looking nice and sweet and left her Circus.

She was going to pay a visit to Stefano. But it wasn't what others would think, no, she just wanted Stefano to share her chocolates with everyone else... was what she kept telling herself.

0O0

Stefano yawned somnolently. His fluffy pillow had helped him in getting some sleep somewhat but he couldn't find why the last few days he hadn't been sleeping so well. Maybe it was the stress, but the contest had barely even started, and at least two days had passed since the last contest and he wasn't even feelign tired.

He noticed that his normal eating amounts were less than before and he didn't know why. Melman had checked him for symptons but the Giraffe came up with nothing. Sighing, he stood up, cracking his back and neck. It looked as if his bones didn't like to sleep as well. Opening his car door open, he yanwed once more, only to find Vitaly already awake and getting his hoop ready. Stefano raised an eyebrow before shutting his car door and happily waddling over to the Russian tiger.

"_Buon giorno_ Vitaly!" the Sea Lion greeted. Vitaly jumped, almost dropping his rings and hoops before smiling softly.

"'Ello, Stefano. Why you up so early? the Sea Lion shrugged.

"I don't-a know. I have-a not been-a sleeping so good-a, lately. Melman said I have-a caught nothing-a. I know it's somehting-a, but I don't know-a why" Vitaly studied his friend for a moment before shrugging.

"Must be stress. Unwind, Stefano. You been on cannon too much" the Tiger offered his friend the best advice he could give. He didn't know what was wrong with Stefano, but he wasn't going to just tell him to cope with it and he will know soon, that was too big of a chance to take and he would never say that. Vitaly started to walk away until Stefano stopped him by asking.

"Hey-a! Why were-a you so-a mad yesterday? You look-a like a big mountain, going to explode-a" Vitaly froze and turned slowly.

"I... was just worried" he lied. Stefano smiled.

"Oh-a! Worried for-a what Vitaly?" said tiger bit his lip nervously.

"For you. For Gia. For circus. I don't trust rival circus" he answered. Stefano laughed softly and smiled.

"Oh, you such-a great-a friend, Vitaly!" he piped. Vitaly smiled a bit. His expression turned from one of collectedness to one of pure curiousness. Why couldn't he just tell Stefano that a stupid white tigress had gotten on his bad side? It wasn't like she was anything special. Not to him at least. He shrugged the thoughts coming onto his head before looking back at Stefano who had not moved form his spot and was grinning from ear to ear.

"Vat?" he asked. Stefano shrugged once more before looking past Vitaly. His eyes' bugged out of his skull and his jaw dropped.

"_Catalina?_" he whispered. Vitaly turned to see a small figure coming towards them, holding what seemed as a basket. He didn't notice that Stefano was running towards the figure until he actually saw him in his eyesight from his height. His jaw dropped as well. A female Sea Lion? He smirked. Ah, Stefano. That lover-boy. He watched as Stefano led the little lady to him.

"And this is-a my-a friend! Vitaly-a! This is-a Catalina, my_ amiga_! Vitaly-a, Catalina! Catalina, Vitaly-a!" the Sea Lion spoke with such happiness that Vitaly could no longer detect the sleepiness he previously had before. Oh, yeah, he understood fully now. Vitaly bent down to shake her hand. He dindn't want to chase her off, even though his instincts practically yelled at him to do so, he wouldn't do it. On Stefano's behalf.

"Velcome to _Circo Zaragoza_" he greeted the small Sea Lioness. Catalina flushed, she was shy at first, but she couldn't help it. Somehting simply _told_ her to make a good impression. But for what? She put the basket down and shook Vitaly's soft paws. She blinked for awhile before Stefano had unknowingly snapped her out of it.

"Why did you-a come here-a, Catalina?" he asked, a bit of hope in his heart that she came for him. Catalina blinked a few times.

"Wh-wha-? Oh! Yeah! You told me last time how you would have liked it if your friends would try my chocolates. I thought it was a good idea, so I came with three batches! Try some, Mr. Vitaly!" she urged, taking a big piece. Vitaly kindly accepted it, though he still had his suspicions. Sniffing it once, he dropped it onto his mouth and he wanted to swoon. The chocolate had simply melted in his mouth and was so creamy, he wanted to have another one.

"Wow! This is delicious! Very good! Who cook?" he asked. Catalina flushed once more.

"I-I made it. Is it delicious?" Vitaly nodded his head.

"Yes! Can I-?"

"Oh of course! Catalina exclaimed, diggin for one more big piece and gave a few to Vitaly who chewed them happily. Stefano gasped when he actually heard somehting like a motor boat. Looking around, he found that the sound came... from... Vitaly?

"Vitaly!" he exlcaimed, catching the tiger's attention. "I did not-a know you-a purred!" he exclaimed. Catalina giggled and Vitaly went red.

"I don't purr Stefano" he said quietly. Stefano laughed.

"Then what-a was that-a?"

"I was... uh... growling... I like it, so I growl...very nicely. Softly. No purring" he asnwered quickly and before Stefano could claim otherwise, Vitaly waved.

"Bye Stefano! Good luck vith girlfriend!" he called. Unkowingly getting his revenge on the Sea Lion. The two blushed and Catalina merely giggled.

"It's alright, no need to tell me. Are any of your other friends awake?" she asked. Stefano shrugged before exclaiming excitedly.

"I-a dunno! Let's-a go-a see!"

0O0

Safēda yawned sleepily, well, it was much more like a roar than a yawn. The others woke up quickly after that, while others merely ignored it and moved away from whoever made it. Safi giggled softly and opened one eye, a shining gold like the sun. Safi raised her head and yawned. Now _that_ was a roar. Immdiately the others got up, rubbing their eyes and yawning themselves. the cubs did as well, though mewed rather than roar. Iggy tried hard but could help but let out a small squeak.

"Mooooooom" he called form the other side. "I'm huuuuuungryyyyyyyyy!" he continued. The toehr cubs joined in.

_"Me too moooooommy!"_  
_"Daaaaaaaaddy! I want some meeeeeeeat! Can we have chicken this time, not cow?"_  
_"Mother! I'm so sleeeeeeeeepy!"_

Immediately the white tigress covered her brown ears and closed her eyes. "If there's one thing I hate, it's the morning munchies" she growled softly for only Safi to hear. The pale lioness smiled and stretched.

"We'll get our breakfats soon dears. And we'll geet what we get. In the mean time, chew on the scraps" she said. Immediately the cubs ran over to the pile of bones and bits of meat left from last night's dinner and dug in. Iggy was the first to get it, and, as any child, took the biggest piece. The other cubs did not complain and instead tried to chew on the bone or get bits of flesh that were too hard to get.

Iggy brought the huge bone, with nice pieces of meat haning from it and climbed onto his mother's paws before finally chowing down. Safi licked her cub's small hair tuft while Safēda's eyelids threatened to close again.

"Saffy" the cub growled while calling her, trying to free a good piece from the bone. Safēda raised an eyebrown at him before answering.

"Yes?"

"I got an idea" he replied quickly, breaking a part of the bone. Safi grinned.

"That's it Iggy. There's marrow in the bone, it's very good for you" she said before resuming her licking. Safēda raised an eyebrown, daring to look further and hear further on the small cub's idea.

"What do you mean, dude?" she asked. Iggy licked his lips and grinned at his older sister, not minding as his mother's tongue cleaned his backside and his back paws.

"Well, I want to meet the other Circus again. Can you take me there?" he asked. Safēda raised an eyebrow and eyes Safi curiously, wondering if she had any part in Iggy's sudden, early, interest in _Zaragoza_.

"I can't kiddo" Iggy pouted.

"Why?"

"I need to practice my singing" the tigress answered boredly. "We need to keep preparing for the Christmas theme. I have no idea why you even chose that one! I want a challenge! Christmas is too easy!" she complained. Iggy looked up to stare at his mother, only to recieve a slimy lick from his head to muzzle.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEW! Moooooooooooom!" Iggy complained, using his paw to get his mother's saliva off of his face. Safi merely frowned at the two before resuming to lick Iggy's backside.

"Safēda, you can skip practice to take Iggy to his friends"

"But-"

"_Safēda_" Safi growled, dangerously low. Iggy shook uncomfortably and laid his head down, hopefuly Saffy wouldn't start a fight with mother. The tigress eyed Safi for a moment, then, finally succumbing to the older feline's influence, sighed in defeat.

"Alright. but I don't like it". Safi grinned triumphantly and moved Iggy from his spot on her paw.

"You can go right now to make time"

"Yeah!" Iggy exclaimed, running out of the pen. Safēda glared once more at her mother before finally getting up and following the little cub. Sometimes, her mother can be very overbearing.

0O0

Gabby sighed sadly as she bent down in trough to drink. The water was dirty, as usual, but it was the only available water source for the animals, and sometimes, it would run out quickly. She took her chance now, very early enough so she can have a good enough drink to last her for the rest of the day. It pained her to see how badly the humans treated them.

No animal should live like that. Gulping what tasted more like mud and dirt, she went ahead for the hay stack. The hay, too, was dirty, and prickly. She hated the way in felt in her mouth, she had to chew and chew for it to taste edible and be able to swallow. Ugh. She hated the Circus. The last Circus was much better than here. They had clean water and food. Despite the teasing and the horrid namecalling she recieved, she would prefer them to here.

After she had finished her breakfast, she trotted off outside the tent. What awaited her out there, she did not know, but she hoped it was the Zebra. WAIT! No! _Didn't_ hope. Yeah, that was the right word. She hoped that he wasn't there. Though what he had said in their previous encounter struck her to the core. He called her beautiful. Something only her mother had called her before they had taken her. It pained her to think about her mother but she couldn't help it.

That Zebra had called her beautiful, and he wasn't bad-looking. He was rather cute, in a scruffy sort of way. Gabby shook her head. Gross. No more thinking of him. As she neared the exit of the Circus, something inside her prayed to see him again. he had called her beautiful, and a guy like that shouldn't be taken lightly. But as soon as that thought came, she pushed it away.

When she felt the cool air, she sighed. It was times like these, when she was alone and feeling like she was free- it was one of the most amazing moments in her life. Opening her eyes, she spotted the other Circus bordering theirs. It was relatively small, and fragile-looking. It was too small to be one of the big Circuses but who was she to judge that? She could see the outlines of a few animals coming out of their cars and fixing things up.

She felt the urge to sneak over there and see how they were like. Were they mean and bossy like the animals were in her circus? Were they nice? Something she never had the chance to experience before? Sighing, she wandered towards the small hill that was in the middle of both Circuses and started to eat the grass. It was her favorite spot, when the hay was too small or too... bleh, she would come here and eat the green grass she was denied.

As she arrived, she took one more attentive look at their Circus. She gasped when she saw the same Zebra walkign alongside a glossy-maned lion. She watched as they all laughed and had a good time. She swore she saw a few minature monkeys and a Giraffe and a Hippo lounging around together in a romanticly secret kind of way. She gasped again when she realized that the sun was coming up. She would become blind if she stayed out for too long! Panicking, she ran towards her Circus and entered right when the sun was fully up.

She was hoping to be greeted by no one, but, as bad luck would have her, all the animals were awake, and, upon seeing her, they started to call her names and tease her. Gabby, already upset, ran away with tears forming in her pink eyes. She quickly entered her pen and started to cry her heart out.

0O0

Iggy sang a small tune as they neared _Zaragoza_, his feet happily skipping a beat every now and then. he would sometimes jump for an added an effect. Safēda would watch, impressed that the cub had such an energetic spirit. As they neared their friend Circus, Safēda's mind wondered. She hoped that whatever Iggy had in mind was quick and fast, that way, she didn't have to pay any attention to the tiger that lived with them. Somehow, he just made her blodd boil.

Her dislike of him deepened when Safi commented about the tiger having quite a similarity between her grandfather. In what sort of way, she would find out. Whoever he was, he would know the truth of Alexei. No matter what. All she had to do was look in his eyes and she'd know. She knew that.

What color were they again? Green? Yeah, Safi said they were green. Safēda went deeper in thought. Well, let's see if she could piece this little capper together.

He had a nice build, yes, he was very muscular. Her mind then wondered about how strong and tough he looked when they had first met. His white chest puffing out, his teeth bared. _Pearly white teeth_, might she add. His legs were thin but muscular, though short in size, but it was good for running quickly. His nose was bigger than any tiger she had seen, but it awed her in a way. His chin was nice, long and slender. And, wasn't he wearing some kind of short?

Safēda suddenly found her cheeks unusually hot. Feeling then with her paw, she gasped when she realized they were_ really _hot. Was she _blushing_! Immediately she tried to chase away the thoughts of the tiger. Overall, he was handsome, yes. Well fed, well bred, well groomed and everything but what did that have to do with Alexei? She felt as if she had all the puzzle pieces but she did not know how to connect it.

Growling in her discontent to come up with a plausible answer to her questions, she kept on walking behind Iggy. Finally, they had arrived, and right when she was about to kick the ground in desperation. The first one who caught the sight of them was the Sea Lion and... a Sea Lioness. She hadn't seen her here before... wait- was that?

Safēda gasped when she realzied that the Sea Lioness accompanying Stefano was Catalina herself. She never left her Circus, not for any reason or other unless they all went. She did not sense the others here. Why would she be here? The tigress then caught the loving look Catalina gave Stefano when he wasn't looking and she knew why. The white tigress rolled her eyes.

Oh yeah, it was _too _obvious for her.

"Ah! Iggy! How nice to-a see you-a! Look-a! We've got-a chocolates!" Stefano exclaimed, holding the box for all to see. With the smell of chocolate in the air, Iggy ran off in Stefano's direction and tackled the Sea Lion down. Stefano yelped and the two rolled downwards and bumped into Vitaly, who had just finished performing his stunt and found himself being toppled by his best friend and a cub.

"Iggy" he questioned. "Vat-?" then he spotted her. She appeared ont he top of the hill, and she had the same look of shock and surprise as he did. He didn't expect her to come here, after their squabble in their first meeting, the two left each other with hate in their minds. The female approached slowly, she looked calm and looked as if she had some sort of goal in her mind.

He watched her with keen, emerald eyes and noticed how she walked. She was slim as a tigress could be. She had big ears, nice, oval-like eyes, long lashes, and pretty dull blue eyes than sparked in a way that awed him. Vitaly shook his head quickly and turned his attention back to Stefano and the cub who had burst out laughing.

"Stefano" the tiger said sternly. The Sea Lion nodded quickly.

"Oh! Yes-a! Come one-a, Iggy! Let's get off-a Vitaly!" Iggy nodded as best as he could, his head upside down and his legs coming forward, threatening to topple him over. The cub flipped and helped Stefano as well as Vitaly.

"Yo Tiger stuff! I brought Saffy here! I wanted to play again"

"So you have" Vitaly muttered silently. He watched Safēda carefully, on edge, and she did the same. Choosing to ignore him, the tigress addressed the young cub.

"Iggy, isn't there something you want to ask your friends?" she questioned the lion cub. Iggy nodded quickly but then turned to Stefano.

"Where's Alex?" he question.

"I think he's-a in the center of the-a Circus, on-a the Trapeze-a" the Sea Lion answered. Iggy ran towards the figure with the two Sea Lions in hot pursuit, leaving only Vitaly and Safēda to follow. It was akward, to say the least. For awhile, they stood in their place, not moving and not saying a word. Neither of them spoke or made eye contact with each other. Vitaly, after ahwile of staring decided to be the first to turn and follow until her heard her speak:

"I'm sorry for what happened last time. I had no idea your tail was so _sensitive_, Russkitty" Vitaly turned to face her but found that she had somehow walked past him and was now far ahead of him, walking at quite an easy and calming pace. Impressed by her speed, and cursing himself for even doing so, he followed. Vitaly's eyes wandered at her body.

Oh yeah, she was very slim, and curvy too, might he add. Her stripes were a rich, light chocolate color, instead of a dark black, and her fur was pure white. To him, it resembled snow like in Russia. She watched as her tail swished back and forth, her hips swaying with every step. Catching himself oggling her, Vitaly slapped himself on his muzzle. The tigress turned back a bit to raise an eyebrow and eye him a bit before turning her head back to the front.

He was weird.

Finally, they arrived at the center of the Circus and Safēda took her place beside the young lion cub who had given a big hug to Alex and Gia. The whole Circus greeted the two, but mostly Iggy, and Safēda didn't mind that at all. She preferred it that way. As Iggy talked to Alex, her blue eyes wandered to Vitaly, who stood next to Gia, listening to the cub attentively. Her eyes examined him as best as she could.

When she looked into his eyes- she wanted to gasp. She saw a part of Alexei in him. It wasn't blood related or anything, it was the way his eyes were, how they eyes something without breaking focus- the same look Alexei wore during his act. As she studied them further, Safēda noted how green Vitaly's eyes looked. They were a very attractive kind of green, like an emerald, and they held such a fiery passion, she admired it. Shaking her head, she tried to focus back onto seeing what kind of ties he had with her grandfather until Gloria exclaimed loudly:

"Wow! Of course we'd love to go to your pool Iggy!". Safēda blinked slowly. _Wait- WHAT?_

**0O0**

**Yay! I finally upload! XD I actually enjoyed writing Vitaly and Saffy's little moment there. All you know now that SOMETHING's going on XD What is this tie that both Vitaly and Saffy feel? Does Alexei have anything to do with it? You'll find out next Chapter! More interaction between these two, I promise! X3**

**A bit of Gloria's POV, Gabby's POV and, of course, Catalina. These girls need their time X3 I actually realized this may be a REALLY long fic. Probably the longest MAD fic so it will be a long time until it finishes! You guys want it longer! XD Thought so! X3**

**Guess what song MAINLY inspired me? XD**


	23. A Day At The Pool

**OK! Before you guys read this, I must give a HUGE thanks to _Funkywatermelon _for helping me get writing and ideas sort out for this Chapter! You rock, dude! X3 **

**Disclaimer: All OC's belong to me _and_ their repected owners, The MAD crew belong to DreamWorks! R&R!**

**0O0**

**Chapter XXIII - A Day At The Pool **

Kaden watched, deep red eyes focused on the scene taking place before him. He wached as every animal went around the Circus to look for certain things they had needed for god knows what then started to leave. The presence of little Iggy and his Tiger friend had certainly stirred them up, and it gave him a perfect opprotunity too good to be passed up. He smiled smugly when they began to depart, leaving their home unguarded and unarmed. What newbies.

He turned his head towards his daughter, one of the darkest lionesses he had ever sired. Shida eyed the Circus before turning her head back, facing the far distance. He turned to look as well, and saw that, not too far away, Solide was running at full speed with a big bag clinging from his mouth. Kaden then turned his attention back to _Circo Zaragoza _who had left their Circus home empty and were now about a quarter of a mile away and walking towards Iggy's home Circus.

He felt the presence of Solide behind him and never looked back, even when Solide took out the things that they needed. He merely stood there, waiting, until finally the cheetah took out the last few things he needed: colorful beads and a very exotic-smelling perfume.

"Sir" Solide greeted, sitting beside his father-in-law and boss. Kaden's eyes flickered towards him for a moment before looking back at the now far away group of animals. Smiling he held out his paw and Shida gave him a pretty, blue-gemed necklace she had found while sneaking around _Fantaisie_'s tent.

"Good work, Solide. Shida. You brought everything needed in order for this to work" he turned and looked at them both in the eye. "Do _not_ fail me. Make it look believable as possible, think of your cubs. How nice it will be for them to live the life of luxury they deserve? Maybe finally we can rid of those pathetic things we call our owners" and he ran off, leaving his daughter and her mate.

Smiling to themselves, Shida grabbed ahold of the beads, while Solide had sprayed the perfume all over them, masking their scent and making it hardly recognizable. "I hope this works" he spoke. "We've been watching and waiting for far too long for it to all go to waste in one night" he said softly, sneaking back into the green grass and stalking. Shida scoffed at her husband before following his lead.

"We won't fail. Trust me. My daddy thought of this well and nice. This'll be a doozy!" Solide, after much careful consideration, then wished his wife had a better vocabulary and had a better sense of her father's plans. Oh well.

0O0

Kidogo had thought this day would be nice, no interference, nothing of disturbance, just good old practice. Safi and the others returned with the cubs almost close to night the day before, and claimed they had a walk. He found this downright suspicious, especially coming from Safi and Rita. His suspicions only doubled when Safēda refused to converse with anyone, and Iggy smelled slightly delightful. Iggy never liked to smell delightful. Something weird was going on but neither of them wanted to explain what really happened.

They were not taking a stroll, that much he knew. The next day when the white tigress and the cub disapeared, he found it even more strange and suspicious. Safēda wasn't a morning tigress, and she never woke up for anyone, not even Safi. Then when he found Rita and Safi having quite a quiet conversation, and then when they left eagerly when Rita caught his look of curiousity, he became more determined than ever to find out what was happening. Why all this conspiracy?

He found his answer when he took his usualy morning walk around the Circus to scent any approaching or old scents under 24 hours and, from looking up at a distant hill, spotted the Zaragoza bunch walking towards their Circus. And leading them was none other than Iggy. He had two descisions: 1) Warn the other animals without Safi's assistance and confront them or 2) Just threaten them to go away. After carefully considering the options thrown at him, he went with the most stupidest. Number 1.

Safi would be, in light words, mad that he would round up the animals without her notice on someone her son was bringing but unlike him, Safi didn't think of the worst of situations. That was why she needed someone like _him_ beside her. He didn't want his Circus under threat and if Safi wanted to take the chance, he would try and change the path she chose. He had quickly gotten the attention of Baba Jumbo the Albino elephant, and Jewel the Goose as well as her flock to join him.

Of course he had gathered some of his fellow tigers and lions, as well as a monkey or two. There was no use in only getting two animals to help his cause. As soon as they headed out to confront those blasted animals they had chased away a few days ago, he found himself face-to-face with their own lion.

The blue-eyed feline looked past him and his face paled a bit. "Uhm, I thought you guys invited us to come to your pool? Do we have to check up with the main office or-?" Kidogo's frown became apparant to all, especially to Iggy who cowered under Alex's feet, the sight of his angered uncle scaring him to bits.

"We didn't. Iggy did, but even so, you are not allowed here" with a huff he turned, thinking he had made his point until a fairly recognizable voice spoke loudly on purpose for him hear clearly.

"Oh yes they are!" the dark-maned lion turned his head and gaped as the white-pelted female Tigress came forward, her expression carrying great annoyance and anger. "If I recall, you don't own this Circus, Safi does, so you better want to let them in. Safi and Rita both gave Iggy permission to bring them. And so did I" Kidogo merely stared before pouting.

"But I don't _want_ them here!" Smiling smugly, Safēda walked past him, ignoring his look of shock and anger of being ignored, and eyed the rest of the animals. "Anyone else?" Jewel the goose came foward and started to squack in protest with her kin.

"Kidogo is right! We don't want them here! And they can't be here either! Out of everyone here, _you_ should know the rules, Saffy!" the tigress frowned and nodded her head.

"I understand but my mind as well as the minds of the others are made up. They are allowed to stay" Jewel squacked once more before waddling off angrily in the opposite direction. She would speak to Safi about this nonsense! Safēda watched as the geese waddled away and disappearing from sight before looking once more at the pile of animals. Some had already left, choosing not to deal with Safēda's bad side while others, the more braver ones stood by to see what would happen or the ones who dared question her authority.

Baba Jumbo the elephant couldn't give a care in the world if they stayed, really, he didn't like forcing himself to associating with other animals, though he stayed near them for company. His eyes wandered through the animals and suddenly spotted Iggy as he finally abandoned Alex's feet and was held by the female next to him. A spotted... female... feline... he grunted before stepping foward.

"They have to go Safēda. Even Safi isn't above the laws of the Circus" he spoke firmly and loudly, so as not to go unnocticed, like that could happen.

"She is the leader, and those rules were made for enemies. They are not our enemies. They're friends! And so Safi has the right to do this!" Jumbo grunted, eyeing Gia and then retreating back into the tent, grumbling something about kids in these times of years. The rest of the animals went back to their practicing, giving Safēda time to breathe and then turn to the others from Zaragoza. "Sorry about that, those three are the main pushy ones. Don't worry about the rest"

She entered in the tent when she realized that Kidogo had went in while Iggy beamed and started to skip around it, "C'mon! This way!" he called, running off towards the back of the Circus tent. Vitaly couldn't help but sigh. He was both glad and disappointed. Why did she have to leave? And good riddance! He didn't need to hear her complain to him if they ever- no, he wouldn't even speak to her. His tail fidgeted a bit, before going puffy as well as his fur.

He looked back to see Safēda coming out of the tent, with Kidogo's ear in her paw and dragging him out of the tent with all her might, he couldn't help but smile at the sight. She had fire in her.

0O0

The pool was ginormous! It was an above-ground pool, but that didn't make it any less exciting. Safi and Rita along with another tigress and a Bongo were still preparing it to be filled. Safi turned and smiled widely. She held her arms out as Iggy dropped from Gia's arms and ran over to glomp his mother.

"MOM! Is it ready?" he asked eagerly. Safi giggled.

"It will soon be, in the mean time, enjoy your kitty pool" she licked the top of his fringe and Iggy ran excitedly over to the small pool just for him. The Bongo smiled and Rita dragged her to the fron where the lioness introduced to the others her own adoptive daughter. They exchanged hellos and good fortunes before being interrupted by Iggy's loud acclamation before he jumped into his pool.

"BANZAI!" he yelled, jumping in only to bounce off the water's surface and onto the dirt. The other tigress helping Rita and Safi burst out laughing and toppled over. The scene was then greeted by a Bornean Orangutan running in quickly with a huge grin on his face.

"Did it work!" he asked, looking at everyone eagerly. The tigress wiped a tear from her face and cackled.

"You BET it did!"

"Awesome!" the orangutan and the tigress did a little victory dance leaving everyone to sweat drop at the sight. Iggy pouted and poked the surface, sniffed it, then licked it.

"MOM! It's Jell-O!" he said excitedly before ramming his head into the gelatiny-substance and wagging his tail. Safi grinned and faced the Zaragoza bunch before taking the hose out.

"My apologies. Pongo and Artica play pranks on everyone, that's their vistory dance. In celebration of every prank that goes right and/or did not end up in total disaster" she explained before shooing the two animals away to practice their acts. Julien mused at the cub as he ate from the pool then looked back at Safi.

"Dear Matriarch of the Newer World, what is this- Jello that this cub speaks of? It's sounds magnificent" Safi blinked before answering.

"It's Jell-O. It's a snack humans eat, it's very nice, I admit. A very gelatin-like food" Julien stroked his fur under his chin before snapping his hands. "Maurice! Take me and my lovely Queen Sonya to this Jell-O! So that we may feast upon it!" he ordered. Maurice rolled his eyes before removing Mort from King Julien's feet.

"Of course your majesty!" Maurice replied before taking the red wagon Julien sat on with a bunch of Beach/pool accessories and needs that Julien believed he and his queen will need in order to enjoy the heat of the day. As the lemurs departed to join Iggy, the rest of the animals waited until Rita gave a thumbs up from where she stood on the other side and almost immediately, Safi exclaimed proudly.

"Get in!" and they all attacked the pool.

0O0

"I can't swim, Alex"

"Aw come on, Gia! Just do as I tell you! You'll be fine, you have me to help you!" The Jaguar female hesitated before lowering her feet into the cool liquid and almost being submerged in the water. Gia watched as the others threw a beach ball to each other, seeing who would be the first one to miss so they can laugh as they tried in vain to catch it.

Duchess and Arthur were too big enough to be in the pool but Rita and Safi had prepared for that and cooled the elephants down with hoses, spraying them down. Sometimes, Duchess would put her trunk in the water then spray at the others who laughed and giggled. The dogs doggy paddled all around, playing Marco Polo.

Stefano and Catalina were having the best of their time. Catalina technically didn't belong to their Circus but Stefano insisted for her to come, along with the persuasion of the others like Gloria and Gia. She splashed water towards Stefano while he tried his best to block it's path then did the same to her. Catalina laughed and threw more water at her companion who seemed to get closer every time he splashed in her way.

"So what is your act?" she asked the Sea Lion after their splashing had become so brutal it made her eyes blind, but she didn't mind it, it was fun. Stefano grinned widely and pulled her in. Catalina flushed without knowledge from the other Sea Lion and watched as he pointed to a Zebra who was having fun splashing water at Alex who tried his best to teach Gia how to swim, with the Jaguar laughing her head off.

"See-a Marty? Us-a two do-a shoot out-a cannon" he spoke. Catalina blinked curiously.

"Isn't that dangerous?" she asked, grabbing a beach ball that had been thrown in her way and threw it back to the Triplets who were the first to throw it. Stefano grinned even wider that before.

"Is it-a dangerous?" he asked her incredulously. "YES of COURSE It's-a dangerous!" he exclaimed, splashing water at her once again. Catalina laughed and splashed once more with him. She finally dived and then emerged, spitting water in his face. Stefano laughed and almost jumped when Catalina exclaimed excitedly,

"I want to try!" he stopped splashing only to recieve huge, water-smacking action to his nose.

"Y-you want to-a try the cannon-a?" He asked. Catalina smiled.

"Of course! It sounds like fun!" Stefano both felt extremely happy and extremely worried. He was afriad she would start to tell him how doing a cannon act was not right for a Sea Lion to do, for one of his size.

"Are you sure-a?"

"Of course!" She exclaimed happily. "I'm with two pros! Nothing bad can happen right?" Stefano started to have a flashback when he first got shot out of a cannon. Well, he almost died when he first tried, but thanks to Marty, he was still alive. So, with two of them helping one... it shouldn't be a problem right? He hoped he was. He finally nodded in agreement.

"Okay-a! Come to the-a tent-a tomorrow and me and-a Marty will-a show you cannon-a!" and he splashed more water into her face.

0O0

"Alex-"

"Gia, trust me" Alex said firmly, getting a hold of her paw and helping her walk in the water. "It's easy once you get to try. I didn't know how myself but I had to teach myself to survive" he told her, smiling. Gia's eyes widened and she returned his smile. The others made way for them, they knew Gia couldn't swin and they didn't want for her to gain a huge fear of water because of something stupid involving them. That, and they did not want to mess with Vitaly.

"Okay, I think-"

"Just paddle, like the dogs, and if you want, try this-" Alex then flipped onto his back, his front side facing the sun and swam back to where they had started and then back to Gia, his arms relaxed behind his head. He smiled when he finally arrived back at her side. "Which do you want to try first?" Gia thought for awhile before smiling.

"I want to do what you did!" she exclaimed. Alex smirked before turning her around.

"Okay, now jump back, like you're going to do a flip on the Trapeze" he told her and Gia lifted her feet off the ground and found herself being held by Alex's paws on her back and waist. Slowly and gently, he let go. "Now move your arms and legs" he revealed. Gia started to move her hands in the same pattern Alex had and soon she found herself moving.

"Alex!" She exclaimed happily. "I am swimming!" Alex laughed before joining her, instead doing the doggy paddle.

"Good, good. But that's an easy one. You see, when your on your back, you float more easily, and when you move your arms and legs, navigating becomes almost easier than when your doggy paddling since it's very tiring and you could sink if you stop"

"Sink?" Gia gasped, suddenly stopping her movement in the water and, like Alex predicted, started to sink. Alex quickly caught her and lifted her up, princess style. Gia blushed. "Sorry! I panicked, I promise I won't-"

"It's okay, this happens to everyone! You'll get used to it in time!" Alex smiled. The two felines looked at each other in the eyes, oblivious to the glares Vitaly gave them from afar and some of the other animals who had their fingers crossed, hoping that the two would kiss. Safi, looking back at Iggy who had finished his snack and was now staring at the couple, covered his eyes with her paws. The cub struggled to lift his mother's paws but only managed to move one finger.

Alex and Gia leaned over until they heard a loud shout: "CANNONBALL!" and then, marty jumped into the pool, both splashing, and surprising, everyone. Mostly Alex and Gia who Marty had landed close to. The Zebra grinned and turned to Alex who had a look of fury on his face.

"That was crack-a-lackin'! Lemme try again!" he said, before catching Alex's look. The lion growled lowly.

"You won't get to live that long to try again!" he spoke before Marty swam off, followed by an infuriated Alex.

"'Ey! 'Ey! 'Ey! Take it easy! Take it easy!" Marty exclaimed, trying to find an exit out of the pool.

"I'm gonna skin you Marty! Then I'm gonna make a voodoo doll out of you and put all of Stefano's knitting nails on it and I'mma poke you with it EVERY SINGLE DAY HOPING YOU FIND YOURSEFL COVERED WITH DOTS AND WONDERING WHY THE HECK YOU EVEN HAVE THEM!" Alex yelled from behind him. The Zaragoza bunch laughed loudly, while other smiled. Gia laughed loudly, enjoying this scene. Ah, well. Another kiss was ruined, but not all went to waste! She learned ot swim! She tested her new abilities as she made a circle with the dogs who doggy paddled.

Finally, Marty jumped out of the pool and ran for his life, followed by an angry lion. Julien watched all of this take place from his hot pink raft while he drank a coconut smoothie. His feet relaxed themselves on Mort while Maurice became his stool and fanning boy. Speaking of fans-

"Maurice!" Julien suddenly said, snapping his fingers. "Bring me my fan! And fan Sonya! My poor beauty must be so _hot_!" the ring-tailed lemur exclaimed, fanning himself with his fingers. Maurice rolled his eyes and reached for a large, paper fan and started to fan his leader.

"Yes your Majesty" he groaned. Julein then watched sadly as Sonya moaned and roared while only her face stuck out of the water. Julien then gasped and ran over to her, kissing her face. "Oh! My POOR Baby! Come onto the raft, this water is much too deep for you, my love! I don't want you to drown!" Julien exclaimed, overly dramatically putting a hand over his head. Sonya grunted before putting her hairy arms onto the raft.

Maurice's eyes widened and he ran over to Julien's mate and cleared his throat. "Your majesty, don't you think she was fine where she was? I mean, this raft is much too small for her-"

"Nonsense Maurice! To me, she is as light as a feather!" Julien sighed as he felt his love's back. When Sonya finally got on top of the raft, with no accident, Maurice actually considered whether or not he was wrong, until he found that his feet somehow felt very wet. As he looked down, he saw that the water was coming in, and they were going down. He sighed and took out an umbrella from the bag Julien had made him put on the raft and opened it up while Mort clung onto him. And they sank.

Sank.

_Sank._

0O0

Safēda hadn't known in the slightest bit on how to approach him. Sure, all she had to do was go up to the tiger, introduce herself, and the problem they had and then quickly apologize and tell him she didn't mean to do it blah blah blah. So why did it suddenly become so hard for her to _speak_? She felt her mouth go dry for a moment when she had spotted him hanging outside the pool area.

She found this weird behavior. Tigers_ loved _water. Maybe this was some sort of ice breaker? Some sort of sign to begin a conversation? Oh well. She made up her mind and started walking towards him, eyeing Safi who was the first one to spot her and frowning when the lioness gave her a grin. How dare she tease her like that, cheering her on as if this was some sort of game she played on a daily basis.

Huffing, she took her place next to Vitaly who merely looked at her with his green eyes then trailed back to his friends. They stood silent for a moment before Safēda realized she wasn't ready to apologize. Not yet anyways. She turned to him and asked as nonchallantly as possible.

"You mind if I swim with them?" she asked. Vitaly frowned then huffed before answering.

"If you no hurt them, I no hurt you" he answered. Safēda grinned. Why did she find this sort of behavior so attractive? And coming from _him_?

"Fine by me, Russkitty" she replied, watching how his expression changed from one of pure boredom to one of puzzlement. She pulled herself up on the bars and then flawlessly swam into the water, she felt as the cooling sensation reached her back and she tingled with excitement. _'Ahhhhhh. I _so_ needed this'. _The water felt cool to her fur, and her skin, and she felt instantly refreshed against the scorching sun above them. Her tail emerged and flipped around lazily as she swam.

She went in circles and sometime did a few tricks to amuse herself, sometimes even earning a few cheers and whatnot before she noticed that Vitaly was looking right at her. She felt her face flush for a moment before submerging herself into the water. Vitaly sighed as he lowered his head. She had spotted him.

Ever since he saw how she dipped herself into the water, he couldn't help but become transfixed by how nicely she swam. Almost like a fish. He watched her as she emerged then flipped, sometimes spin and splash. He even swore that she grew a smug grin on her face when his comrades started to cheer for her and her wonderfully accomplished tricks. He watched her nonstop, admiring her smooth and slender body as she swan under and above the water's surface.

Then he watched as she turned her head, suddenly facing him and how her eyes widened then how she suddenly submerged herself in the water, evading his eyes. He felt a hot blush creep on his cheeks and he felt them with his paw. If it was possible, his cheeks could have been hotter than the sun. It was a good thing his fur was a dark orangy kind of red. If someone had seen him, he would never hear the end of it.

The only ones who caught how they reacted with one another was Safi, Rita, who decided the hang around with them, and Gia. The three females exchanged looks with each other, as if deciding if what they saw was what they think was happening. With one smile from Safi, it was official, they were_ so _into each other.

Safēda emerged once again, only to find that Rita had swam right up to her, grinning. "So aren't you going to 'pologize to 'taly?" she asked. Safēda rasied a confused eyebrow.

"Who's _'taly'_?" she questioned. The lioness rolled her eyes and pulled the tigress, and turned her head and pointed at Vitaly, who had decided to watch Gia and Alex as they swam together, and Marty, who stayed far away from the couple, the former recently returning from causing havoc in the tent and outside.

"_Zat_ is 'taly" she spoke. Safēda watched the tiger, his muscles unknowingly flexing and his muscular chest puffing out in anger and/or annoyance. Her eyes trailed downward until it was cut off by the bar. Rita watched her intensely and smiled in triumph. "Oh yah, you_ like _him" she teased before swimming awam quickly enough so that her friend wouldn't catch her. Safēda blinked in shock before understanding what Rita had meant and chased after the lioness.

"When I have my claws on you _Ritana_, I am going to TEAR. YOU. **APART**!" she exclaimed, catching the attention of all the animals and watched as Rita ran away, laughing her head off as an angry Saffy followed her. Vitaly smirked, chuckling lightly. Yes, she was a fiery one alright.

Safēda chased Rita into the tent and the other animals, including the humans, mused over what the lioness had done to anger her this time. As soon as Safēda thought she had Rita, Artica and Pongo appeared, carrying a big box across the area and she crashed into it, making it break by force and covering her in a slimy substance. Pongo grimaced.

"Great! There goes our next plan!" Artica moaned tragically and pounded the dirt theatrically.

"Why? Why? **WHY**?" she cried. Safēda merely frowned and tried to get the contents out of her fur.

"What _is_ this!" she demanded. Pongo sighed and wiped some from her face.

"This is dye. I was GOING to put it into Kidogo's shampoo bottle so his mane and pelt can be green for the Christmas theme but obviously-"

"THIS IS DYE! GET IT OFF ME!" Safēda exclaimed. Artica merely huffed before taking out a small bottle of shampoo.

"Use this, it gets rid of it. We were going to _also_ blackmail Kidogo into letting him have it but-" a smile appeared on her face. "We'll do it to you". Safēda growled angrily. She was going to get Rita for this!

0O0

Vitaly waited eagerly for the return of either Rita or Safēda. He beamed when Rita had ran out of the tent and then slowed down to catch her breath. She then looked over to where Vitaly was and waved. He waved back and watched as she disappeared to Safi's side and he waited for Safēda's return. When she didn't, he felt worried for a reason. Surely she wouldn't have gotten hurt or anything... right? Wait, why did he care? She was just another tigress! When he turned, he found Rita had somehow swam up to him and was grinning widely at him.

"So vat'cha _doin'_?" she asked innocently. Vitaly panicked for a bit. He couldn't tell her, he couldn't tell any- "If you're vondering vere Saffy is, she getting bath... and ordering extra dye". Vitaly turned his head to the side.

"How did you-"

"Know you vere thinking about her or vat I knew vat she doing?" Vitaly hesitated to answer before sighing and decided to be blunt about the whole situation as much as he could.

"Both"

"Vell, it is obvious" she replied smiling. "You always look at her now. You never stop and when she turn to look at you, you turn away, blushing. I know you are blushing don't deny it!" Rita said, wiping the incredulous look off of the Tiger's face. "Second, I knew because she bumped into Pongo and Artica's dye. _Green_ dye. She look like grinch now. Ha! Act like too"

"What exactly do I act like, Rita?" Safēda spoke dangerously calm behind her. Rita looked behind her quickly, smiled sheepishly, said "Hi" and then ran away as fast as her legs could carry her. Sighing the tigress, rested on the bars, "I'm too tired to chase her" she revealed to Vitaly who merely stared at her.

"Do you have habit of sneaking up like zat?" the male asked. Safēda shrugged before unsheathing a claw.

"No, Rita does that mostly" as she ran her claw through the dirt, drawing and doodling, she finally decided she was about to do what she was suppose to do in the first place. "Hey, uhm. I'm sorry... for your tail" she spoke quietly. Vitaly raised an eyebrow at her before shrugging.

"I don't vant to, but I forgive you"

"Well aren't _you_ kind" she replied sarcastically. Vitaly smirked and his tail started to wag a bit.

"Mmmm, I am. Very... Crazy" he teased. Safēda's ears instantly went back, touching her skull and she snarled.

"Don't call me that!"

"Then vat do I call you? I don't like Safēda. Sounds like I'm saying Sah-Feet. And Saffy sounds alot like Safi" the tigress growled yet again before snapping.

"Call me Kitty why don't cha!"

"_Nyet_" he responded nonchallantly. "Kitty sounds too boring. I like Kat". Safēda raised an eyebrow at him.

"You'd rather call me Kat than my regular name, my pet name, and the normal nickname for a cat?". Vitaly replied with a uninterested shrug. Safēda then rolled her eyes before sighing. This conversation was getting nowhere. Then she remebered something she had been meaning to ask him. "Who taught you to jump?" she asked him firmly. It was Vitaly's turn to roll his eyes.

"Humans. Duh?" he responded. He looked at the white tigress. "Do you not know how dis goes?" The tigress snarled at him before giving her own answer.

"I know! But some tigers teach themselves! Like my father and my- nevermind" she said, trying to evade the word _'Grandfather'_ to him. Vitaly smiled.

"So you jealous?" her head shot up, glaring at him. Vitaly noticed how much fire the tigress had in her dull blue eyes. His vibrant ones mocking hers.

"I'm not jealous that you can jump the hoop. I'm just saying that there are some tigers that humans never taught who had to teach themselves how to jumo through a hoop"

"You never taught yourself?" he countered. Safēda said nothing for awhile before giving him her answer.

"Don't want to learn" she responded, making Vitaly's eyes widen in surprise. He has never met a tiger who did not like to jump the hoops. She was different than the other tigers he had met before. She was very interesting and unique in her own way. He liked that.

"Vy?"

"None ya business, Russkitty" Vitaly sighed.

"It's Vitaly... or 'taly if you want"

"Alright 'taly" Safēda replied, suddenly getting up with a huge smile on her face. "You've seen me swim, how about you? Can you?" Vitaly pondered for a moment before shrugging. Safēda smirked and started walking backwards.

"Well then, watch and learn! Hey! I'm gonna jump! MOVE it!" she exclaimed. The animals, as well as Vitaly, made a huge enough space for her to do a nice jump into the pool. Taking a few deep breaths, Safēda opened her eyes and she smirked. She then ran at full speed, doing a few front and back flips then finally throwing herself in the air and making a huge splash when she landed in the water. She emerged in front of Vitaly, who had wandered into the pool's edge, and almost bumped a nose with him. The two tigers blushed before Safēda exclaimed.

"So, can you do better than that, 'taly?" she asked. The male smirked smugly, taking a few steps back.

"Oh you_ know _it" he replied before running fowards, doing a few of his signature flips and catwheels before launching himself as well into the pool. He emerged in front of Safēda, his chest almost bumping into hers and making the tigers blush uncomfortably. Safi watched attentively from afar, and nudged Rita who also looked. The two felines smiled at each other.

"I wonder if this tiger would be the one for Safēda" Safi wondered, Rita smiled.

"Do not vorry, Safi. Vitaly is good tiger. I know. He got heart broken once, he von't vant to happen 'gain. Besides, he is good either vay. Very nice and sweet, and popular" Safi eyed the lioness for a moment.

"You sound like you yourself wanted this tiger" Rita blushed and nodded.

"Once. I had crush on him. He liked vrong female, I get over. He and Safēda are perfect for each other" the two focused their attention back the the two tigers who started to compete in who did the best splash, and soon everyone was joining in besides Iggy, Safi, Rita, The Lmeurs and Sonya, Alex, Gia, Gloria and Melman. The couple stayed behind and Melman made sure Gloria was comfortable in her spot, she held two floaties beside her and drank from a coconut that Melman had borrowed from Julien when the raft sank, and the two cheered and clapped whenever a spectacular splash was made.

Everyone was having fun, there was no doubt about it. As the sun started to set, Alex and some of the others got off the pool, grinning for a day well spent. Iggy ran over to the lion and gave him a big hug. "But you can't leave! It's not night yet!" he complained. Safi walked over to the two males and ruffled Iggy's hair tuft.

"Iggy, they're tired. We'll see them tomorrow. Is that okay?"

Iggy grinned and held both of the lions hands. "Promise?" he asked. Safi nodded as did Alex.

"Promise" they both said and Iggy giggled befre he joined Seymour and Alaine inside the pool along with Monica and a few other of the Circus' children. Gloria sighed sweetly, she really wanted kids. Melman gulped silently. How was he going to approach this? The Penguins suddenyl appeared with more than half of their white bellies turning red. Skipper wore a huge grin on his face as did the other Penguins.

"Well boys, I can gladly say_ 'Mission Accomplished'_" the Pneguins then resumed to slapping each other's fins, also ending with Skipper slapping Private across the face. Alex chuckled before putting his arm around Gia and waving the animals of _Fantaisie_ goodbye. Gia giggled and nipped his cheek, making the lion blush scarlet.

"Thank you for teaching me how to swim" she said, rubbing her head against his mane. Alex smiled.

"No prob. If you want to learn more, we can buy our own pool and I can teach you the other kinds of swimming positions!" he suddenly heard someone huff loudly and he grinned sheepishly at Vitaly as he turned his head. "Which reminds me, hey Vitaly, how did you like the pool?" the lion asked. The tiger grunted before giving him a thoughtful look.

"It vas good"

"You really enjoyed it?" Gia asked smiling, Vitaly nodded his head, unbeknown to him that he was being cornered.

"Yes"

"It's because of the tigress, huh?" she asked. Vitaly's green eyes widened and he sputtered.

"N-no. I just really... liked vater" he replied. Gia grinned before setting her head back on Alex mane. Alex cackled a bit before turning to give Vitaly a thumbs up, making the tiger blush. Wow, what a day at the pool.

**0O0**

**So... you guys like? XD I didn't want Vitaly and Saffy to be all lovey-dovey or anything, I gotta add some more annoyance to them but you can feel the heat _riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight_? XD Read and Review! And do tell me your favorite parts guys! I want to know what makes my readers love the Chapters so much! X3 Thanks for keeping up and being patient with me guys! I try to write as much as I can and edit this regularly, some people, unlike me, have lives and so they can't update. Do understand and give them the best reviews you can! X3**

**So thanks for listening and reading by the by! :3 **

**Uzuri, OUT!**


	24. Secrets Unearthed

**Chapter XXIV - Secrets Unearthed**

The finest of days quickly turned into ones of pure laziness and sleepiness. The animals had so much fun at the pool, once they arrived, they had quickly bathed themselves in an effort to go to bed as fast as they could. The day was just dragged so long and all they had in their heads was their pillows and sweet dreams. The pool hadn't tired them out, but the walk did, and it was a _LONG_ way to Fantaisie's borders. Arthur and Duchess quickly bathed themselves with their trunks and sleepily used their trunks as a shower hose for the other animals who wanted to bathe immediately.

The cats didn't mind to bathe themselves, easing the elephants of their chores and they quickly went into their cars to go to sleep. What time was it? Oh, they didn't care, they just wanted to sleep. The only one who seemed more refreshed than everyone was Marty, for reasons unknown to everyone but him.

The Zebra quietly and patiently waited for his turn to take a bath and had done so quickly. He waited until everyone but a few had gone into their cars, already he could hear the snores and quiet gentle sighs through the hard wood of the cars and smiled quickly to himself before going over to the cannons to give everyone who saw him a false pretense of him preparing the cannons into their proper place.

Unknown to them, he and Stefano had already put away the cannons before they left and instead disappeared from sight over the hill that bordered their Circus and that of _Circo Freak_. No one had the thought that he was sneaking off the grounds but Stefano, who really did not care at that point, did know there was something going on. He knew that Marty was up to something but he had bigger things to worry about now, Catalina was leaving.

His crush had just revealed that she had snuck off from her Circus to come and visit, without noting anyone from her home circus and they must be worried sick about her- one person in general. Stefano sadly bid her farewell many times before he escorted her to the desolated pathway that Catalina had taken in the morning. The female Sea Lioness sadly gave Stefano one more chocolate and then kissed him lightly on the cheek.

Both Sea Lions blushed without the other's knowing and she left hastily. Bruno would be mad at her and her friends would start asking nonstop of her whereabouts. She would not tell them, no she won't tell anyone where she was or what she was doing. It was better this way, she thought. What she did was her business and she was glad for once to take control. She had fun with Stefano and she was determined to visit him again in the morning... and to try out that cannon act, too.

"Bye-a Catalina!" Stefano called after her. The Sea Lioness turned to him, blue eyes sparkling in such a way it made Stefano's stomach do a kick flip. He smiled widely when she blew a kiss at him and waddled off in a hurry. He was in _love_ and he knew it. He just had to know how she felt about him, now. It was all so fast, _too_ fast. They had only met a few days ago, and at least three times, but he was in _love_. He sighed and waddled back to his Circus, upset that she had to leave but with happy thoughts for she was going to come back the next day!

He waddled past Melman who kissed Gloria's cheek as she entered her car and closed the door gently, Melman stood there for a moment, exchanging loving glances with her before she fully closed the door, giggling in that glorious laughter that he loved oh so much. Melman sighed and walked over to his own car next to hers, and, with some difficulty, finally entered his own and shot his head out of the opening on top of the car the penguins had made for him to sleep without neck cramps. He laid his head gently on Gloria's side of the car and started to think for himself. He loved Gloria. That much he knew, but how to tell her that he wanted them to be forever? Eternal? He sighed once more.

He could soon hear the delightful snores coming from Gloria's car and smiled a bit. She snored like an angel, and he was blessed to have such perfection at his side. "What can I do to make you see that I want you forever?" he whispered silently, hoping that the stars above would hear him and give him an answer. But what if he asked and she said "No"? Sure, she may have accepted to be her boyfriend, but what if she wanted to be _just _a girlfriend to him? Not a mate, or wife, just a girldfriend?

As he began to doubt himself, Melman spotted King Julien, Maurice and Mort walking along the rooftops of the cars, Julien was talking about himself and his beloved... as usual. Maurice replied "Yes my King" or "Yes your Majesty" to every little question the King had asked, and Mort tried in vain to either grab Julien's feet or sing little songs that the King did not like and would hit Mort for it.

"Maurice? Do you know what I would compare my beloved Sonya to? I'm very certain you would be awed!" Maurice sighed.

"Yes, your Majesty"

"A Diamond!" the King answered. Melman slightly perked up at the statement, comparing the Motorcycle-riding bear to a diamond? Maurice seemed to have the same thing in mind but kept his mouth shut. "Do you want to know why I think that, Maurice?" the King asked. Maurice rolled his eyes but nodded.

"Yes my King"

"A diamond is precious, and beautiful- like my Sonya! A diamond is more powerful and mighty- like my Sonya! A diamond can be clearly seen, like I clearly see my Sonya! If I could find every diamond in the world, and melt it all together, I would get my beautiful Sonya because- like a diamond- she is flawless!" The King boasted proudly at having such a marvel for a Queen. Melman had to hand it to the guy, he was good at comparing a woman like Sonya to such... a beautiful object. The most precious stone in... the... world. That's it!

Melman gasped loudly, scaring the Lemurs out of their fur. Julien huffed and shook an angry fist at the Giraffe. "Longneck! Can you not _see_ that I am boasting of my beloved's beauty!? Now, as I was saying-" Melman sheepishly laughed and apologized to the three lemurs before using his back legs to open his car door and tried to carefully slip away without making any slightest noise.

It was a good thing everyone was deep asleep.

0O0

Skipper never liked to be known as a softie or anything involving cute and cuddly except when undercover. That job was mostly for Private; the little guy neatly excelled at matters of the heart. Sadly, as such, Private was almost impossibly a bit too soft for the leading Penguin's taste, and that itsy bit of info usually got them into situations he did not want to take part in.

He was the first to spot the tall Giraffe coming towards them, a huge grin on his face, though with a bit of hurry and desperation. He held his flipper out just when Melman was about to speak, shutting the giraffe up. "So, four-legs, what is al the hub-ub about? You look dreadful" Private's eyes literally grew and the small Penguin waddled over to the tall Giraffe.

"Why do you look like you're in a hurry? Bollocks! You didn't find any more weird pawprints did you!?" Private gasped, getting a good slap from Skipper who told him to hush. Melman forgot about his current mission and was replaced with a new mission.

"Pawprints?"

"Well, since Mr. Cute and Cuddly over here spilled the beans, I should tell you that we found tracks all over the place... I think they may be from the others-" he examined one such pawprint on the ground, the plaster in it hardening. "But we'll use this new technique I found on the Mythical Creatures Channel, and compare it to the big cats and dogs..." Melman looked perplexed for a bit before shaking his head.

"Well, I need your help!"

"You may proceed, Longneck" Skipper announced, still watching the plaster.

"Well, I want you guys ot help me create an orchard ring out of a diamond, to give it to Gloria. I want to propose to her but I have nothing to-"

"Woah, woah, WOAH!" Skipper exclaimed, his mind ignoring the plaster and climbing upon the red wagon filled with a bucket of plaster and a few nightcaps. "Sorry, longneck, but us Penguins are not qualified to do such a thing. I mean, we could, but we only have one huge diamond left, and we planned to-"

"Skippah, may I, uhm... talk to you, for a second? I-it's important! very!" Private stuttered quickly, trying to give Melman some reassurance. Skipper nodded and the two Penguins went aside for awhile. Private sighed and gave Skipper his biggest baby-eyes he could do. "Skipper, we have plenty o' more gold and silver, not to mention rubies and rings, don't you think it won't hurt to give Melman what he wants?" Skipper sighed. Somehow, he should have expected this... from Private that is.

"Sorry, Private. No can do. We can't possible create an orchard from a pure substance like diamond! It is very expensive, we can give him one of the rings-"

"But Skippah! Think about this, Melman really loves Gloria, and he only wants to make her happy! Don't you know what it's like to be in love? He is willing to do everything for her, and if you can't respect that,_ I _will! At least give it a chance, besides, we have many more of the others to-"

"Alright, alright, Private. If it calms you and shuts you, then I'll agree to it" Skipper slapped him again before waddling back to Melman. "Alright, Longneck, Private here has given me a good picture of why you want this custom diamond. I am willing to do that for you, but you will have a to wait for a few weeks, it is going to take a while to get the rights tools in order to build it"

"Oh thank you! Thank you! You have no idea how grateful I am! I won't hurry you! Promise! I just want to to be as soon as possible and-"

"We get it, now run off ya lovebird" Melman shook his head happily and ran off, laughing to himself. he would propose to Gloria and give her that diamond! She deserved everything to be happy! She was his diamond, the most beautiful and clearest diamond anyone has ever seen, and he will make her very happy and make her shine above the rest of them, because that was how she made him feel. He loved her. He loved Gloria!

0O0

Marty didn't know how much trouble he could get into this time. Every time he wanted to take some control, it blew up not only in his face but that of others who cared enough to follow his lead. But he was determined to make this time totally different. He went alone this time, without anyone's knowing... hopefully. He had already passed that huge hill that bordered their Circus and the other one. _Circo Freak_, was it?

He carefully passed the sign that read _"Beware" _that the humans had so carefully put out. Marty stiffled a laugh. He'd seen those at the Zoo plenty fo times, but that never stopped him from interacting with the locals. He walked over the gloomy tent, it's presence and darkness threatening to intimidate him. Though Marty was tougher than that, at least he liked to think he was. Heck, if he could walk into a Fossa territory alone, he could take on a few animals... and humans.

He peeked inside the entrance, thinking that he may run into the black tigress or a bunch of her other subordinates, but no one was there to greet him. He was only open to the snores and dreamy sighs that came from within. He wanted to enter, in hopes of finding what he was looking for, but something at the back of his mind nagged at him, telling him to go to the back of the tent.

Strange.

Choosing his instincts instead of his curiousity for the better, Marty removed his head from the curtains and walked alongside the silky texture. As he turned along with the tent's side, he found her sitting outside, looking up at the stars. He gulped before walking forward, hopefully she wouldn't scream at his sudden appearance.

"Ahem" he coughed. The female gasped and turned to face him, vibrant pink eyes narrowing at his presence. Marty grinned slightly, in both embarrassment and worry. If she called her friends out, he'd be a goner. After a while of debating whether or not to chew him out, the female Zebra turned her head, her light brown stripes glistening with the moonlight. She started to stare back at the stars, and chose to ignore him. It was for the best.

She would listen, but dare not talk. Marty sighed gladly. He would rather her stay quiet and ignore him for today if it meant that he wasn't going to be Tiger chow. "Uhh" he said silently, tryign to find a topic to bring up. He jumped slightly when she spoke.

"If you're going to make fun of me, do it now... get it over with" she spoke sullenly. Marty grimaced and shook his head.

"I didn't come here to make of ya" he replied. The albino mare turned her head, her ears perking up in a surprised way, slightly shocked that he would reply so honestly and... she turned her head once more in a vain effort to block him out. Marty knew what she was doing before she started to hum absent-mindedly to herself.

"You can ignore me all ya want, but I meant it. What I said that is". The brown and white mare opened her mouth in complete shock before closing it. She meant to say something, but she will not speak. Marty sighed. He was getting alightly annoyed. She wasn't talking and she wasn't even trying to make any eye contact, as if she was scared that she would say something wrong. Well, he will just have to fix that. He walked forward and stood next to her, noting the uncomfortable look in her face. She must not get very close contact everyday.

"Look, I know you and I got off on the wrong foot. Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you" he whispered to her. The mare lowered her head, she didn't want to face him. She didn't want to tell him anything about her, she didn't want him to see the tears rolling down her eyes. Marty furrowed his brow, he knew there was something wrong, something she refused to share with him, or anyone. He had to know what it was. He held out one hoof to her, "My name's Martin. But you can call me Marty... and you?" he asked her.

The mare hesitated for a split second. Should she risk it? Sighing sadly, she shook his hoof. Marty felt that she was shaking rather terribly. Why? "I-I'm Gabrielle. B-but you c-can call me G-Gabby" she stuttered. Marty nodded his head. Okay, they were on a first name basis. That was good... right? He cleared his throat and smiled.

"Gabby? That's a beautiful name!" the mare choked and started to sob. Marty looked at her in shock before around him to see if there was anyone or anything attracted to the sound of her crying. After a few minutes of nonstop tears, he noticed that absolutely no one came to check up on their Circus mate. How curious. He put a hoof on her shoulder and gave her a worried glance.

"H-hey, are you ok? Did I say somehting bad? I don't want you to be mad or sad, what I say?" Gabby then faced him, her eyes red and puffy, and Marty saw what he had failed to see, she had a scratch mark on her left cheek, and then he had a sudden epiphany. She refused to look at him because of that. He looked around for something to help clean it and found a dirty cloth, he dipped it in the nearby bucket of water before turning her face to him so he can lightly rub it.

"I didn't see, I'm so stupid. Who did this to you?" he asked, his face full of concern. One look that Gabby had hardly ever seen which caused her to sob even harder. Marty groaned, then brightened and then started to hum. Gabby paused for a bit and sniffed, she glanced back at Marty who started to shak ehis head with a happy smile on his face.

_"Where is the moment we needed the most  
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost  
They tell me your blue skies fade to grey  
They tell me your passion's gone away  
And I don't need no carryin' on_

_Cause you had a bad day  
You're taking one day  
You sing a sad song just to turn it around  
You say you don't know  
You tell me don't lie  
You work at a smile and you go for a ride  
You had a bad day  
The camera don't lie  
You're coming back down and you really don't mind  
You had a bad day  
You had a bad day"_

Gabby smiled and giggled a bit before wiping the tears from her face. "I like that song" she spoke softly and Marty winked at her, unknowingly making her blush.

"I used to sing that song during a rainy day back at the Zoo. Really cheers me up, and it hasn't failed anyone yet!" he exclaimed. Gabby giggled a bit more before rubbing her swollen cheek sadly. Marty's face turned serious again. "Who ddi that to you? The humans?" Gabby shook her head.

"The animals. They hate me, and they think it's funny when I start to cry" she revealed to the black with white striped stallion. Marty shook his head in disbelief. It wasn't possible, was it? That animals could be so cruel to one another? How can they do that to someone so frial and sweet like her? He growled a bit before turning to the tent.

"Well, I guess I was wrong when I say that not everyone's bad. That is_ not _crack-alackin'!" Gabby stared at him for a bit before giggling once more, turning Marty's attention back to her.

"Crack-a-lackin'? What doe sthat mean?" Marty shrugged before grinning.

"I don't know, but in MY language, it means: _'AWESOME!'_" Gabby smiled widely, which made Marty smile back at her as well. "There we go! No sad faces! Just all smiles!" Gabby laughed again before looking up at the stars.

"You know, whenever I'm sad, I just look up at the sky and tell myself that there's someone out there who cares for me... my mom did... she loved me no matter what" Marty grinned and looked up as well. So many stars were out, it did not compare to the sky back in Madagascar or in Africa, it was so perfect, yet he couldn't place what was so different about this time that made him feel warm inside.

"Back in NYC, we hardly saw any stars... the only stars we've ever seen were helicopters, and they weren't as spectacular as over here" at that statement, Gabby laughed. Marty smiled in short victory. He managed to turn that frown upside down.

0O0

So everyone was asleep, that was good. He needed no spectators to see what was about to happen, and the possibly skinning that would take place. With one great huff, Alex knocked on Vitaly's door. For the past few days they had been here, Alex and Gia have attempted ot kiss more than once... none actually ended in a liplock and that bothered him for a long while. He had reason to believe that the red tiger was responsible for all this. It was simple. 1) Vitaly still did not fully trust Alex and 2) Gia was like his little sister, all the more to kepp them apart.

He grimaced when Vitaly did not answer and knocked once again. The door slid open and the Tiger popped out, a throwing knife being twirled about in his hands. Okay, screw Plan A. Go with Plan B! Alex smiled sheepishly at the tiger. "Couldn't sleep either, huh?" the tiger shook his head before replying.

"You vant to start conversation? I am busy"

"Yeah, I can see that. It's just, uh, I've been wondering-" Alex leaned over the car door, with a look of thought on his face. How to exactly word htis without being ripped to shreds? "You see, me and Gia have been getting along quite nicely over the past few months... I was just wondering if... youhadanythingtodowithsomeho wgettingmeandGianottokiss" he spoke quickly, hoping that the tiger had not caught anything. Sadly for him, Vitaly caught every word of it.

"You trying to kiss whom?" he spoke dangerously low, leaning threatingly over a frightened Alex. The lion coughed and cleared his throat.

"Look, Vitaly, me and Gia, we have this connection. I just think that we're not able to express it because I think you;re trying to keep us from- uh... experiencing it" The tiger climbed out of his car, his knife suddenly becoming an interesting subject to his eyes. Alex flicnhed when emerald eyes shined and glared at him.

"I don't care cat you and Gia think. You stay away, you no hurt her" Alex's eye twitched. All this time, he wanted to kiss Gia, and Vitaly, okay he understood bu couldn't the tiger see that he was in _love_!? Alex puffed out his chest angrily before starting to rant.

"Alright, look: I LOVE Gia. She is the most important thing to me in this entire world. Do you knwo how much it tore my heart into pieces when she looked at me with sadness in her eyes when she learned we were not circus animals and we _lied_ to you!?" Vitaly's eyes flared for a moment before calming.

"Don't remind me"

"Well, I WILL! Look, I know you and Gia have this fatherly-brotherly thing but you have to know that Gia is a grownup, and I love her as much as she loves me! I won't do anything to ever hurt her, never, I would give her everything in the world if I could! If I had to choose between having endless piles of steak and Gia- i'd choose Gia!" Vitaly was about the speak until Alex held out a finger and shushed him. "Not finished" he spoke, when Vitaly frowned.

"All I'm saying is, I LOVE her. Hear me!? _LOVE_! And I don't care if you threaten me, or scare me, or plain out hate me but I LOVE Gia and I don't care what you do I will NEVER stop loving her! Any guy in the WORLD would be lucky to have her as a mate! She's funny, outgoing, pretty, creative and awesome! She's my life now and if you can't accept that-"

"Alex-"

"I don't care, but I will alwayly love her and-"

"_Alex_-"

"You can't say nothing, I will love her like no one else, not even YOU would! Because that's how much I-"

"ALEX! I get eet!" Vitaly exclaimed, holding his palms up. "You love her. End of story" he grumbled. Alex nodded his head fiercely. The red tiger studied the glossy-maned lion for a moment before sighing and rolling his eyes. "I give you blessing. You love Gia. You no hurt her. Means of skinning, castrating, and possible mane loss vill be fate if you hurt Gia" Alex stared at the tiger, shocked at what he had just said before nodding his head as the words finally made their way through his brain.

"No! I'll never hurt her! I swear! Thanks 'Taly!" he exclaimed happily as he started to dance towards his car. Vitaly the Tiger sighed, face palming himself in embarrassment and feeling sorry for Gia. He had just made the biggest mistake of his life, but hopefully Alex would not mess it up. He meant what he had said. He climbed back into his car and set his knife on the drawer. He took his place in his hammock and swung himself a bit in a rocking motion. Left to right. Right to left.

He thought about today, really. He had thought of nothing else, even before Alex came and interrupted his train of thinking. Somehow, the tiger felt as if he and the white tigress, he had nicknamed "Kat", had actually got along. He was so sure that their next encounter would be very tense and almost threatening like, but she seemed so... unsure when they had talked. She reminded him so much of his old teacher for some reason.

She had spark and it made him smirk whenever than spark was put into a test and she had ended up making a fool of herself. His smirk would widen when she would try and shrug it off. Like the contest, she actually challenged him and he did not back down... though there were two times he felt like there was something more going on than a mere contest. In her first jump, they almost bumped noses.

He had then realized how pretty her purply-pink nose looked. It was very small and petite compared to his. Unknown to him until later on, they _did_ bump noses. Her's was obviously wet, but warm, and he could feel her breathe through a fraction of a second. He had reclined before she, too, ralized they were touching. That was the first time, though. The second he had jumped and appeared in front of her. He towered ove rher by at least a few inches, but the two had almost bumped inot each otehr physically. He could hear her breathing bcome a bit, uneasy or excited.

His had as well and he was quick to get away. He didn't know why, but being around that tigress made him feel a bit more glad that he was around others of his kind. Sure, he had Gia and Alex to relate to, but an actual one of his species- he turned in his hammock. His thoughts were surrounded by that pretty tigress and as his eyes closed, a small smile planted itself on his lips. Maybe... maybe he could meet her again the next day. Get to know her a bit better.

A tigress who didn't like hoops was worth investigating and learning about, right? Even though he was in his happy place right now, it completely escaped his notice of a new set of stuff he had. One of them being colorful beads that spread upon his knife stand.

0O0

Everyone had both a good day at practice and a good day at the school. As soon as the animals from Zaragoza left, Safi went to put her paint on to practice her newer act of singing a christmas tune remix. During the middle of the song, the humans arrived and declared that practice was over and Safi, along with a few of others, quickly went to rub the paint off.

Rita had been busy bathing some of the kids, as well as Safēda, who decided it was easier to bathe the cubs rather than the rest of the animals. While her task was tho bathe the animals, her mind wandered through the events of that day. She had enjoyed it, much to her surprise, though she didn't want to admit that she did merely because the tiger from their Circus had been a huge part of it.

She refused to talk about it, but apparently Rita did not let it go. It was Iggy's turn and it made things a whole lot worse. He and Rita talked nonstop about the day and sometimes the cub would make odd comments about the mini cannonball competition she and Vitaly had started. Sometimes saying how the tiger and Saffy made a great team and they should do an act together. That's what bothered her.

Rita caught her annoyance and merely poked at it a few times, trying to stay innocent enough for the cub not to get it but enough so she could understand what _exactly _she meant. Her saving grace came when Seymour and Alaine invited Iggy to play hide and seek tag with the otehrs and the cub greedily hurried off after them. Rita's smirk widened when Safēda sighed, happy that the comments were done for now.

"So, you don't vant to admit you and 'Taly are good team?" she asked silently, smirking and laughing on the inside. Safēda growled.

"There's nothing to admit. We just formed a contest. That's it"

"Oh no, me and Safi see it quite differently" the lioness smirked. Safēda wanted nothing more than to smack the grin from her face but Rita was much quicker and agile, she would never get a good grip, much less a swipe. "I think you fancy him". Safēda bared her fangs.

"I don't _fancy_ him. In fact, he's quite infuriating, bulky and big-headed. I don't fancy him" Rita nodded her head, though the tigress knew that she thought of that a different way.

"Me thinks you like him'cause all the males here quick to obey you, even Kidogo. And, to me, he puts up a challenge vith you. You like it" Safēda raised her head. She had enough of this foolishness. She stood up and patted the dirt off of her fur.

"I'm going to sleep. We'll talk in the morning" Rita cackled to herself before she, too, got up and went to get the cubs ready for bed. Unknown to the lioness, Safēda had snuck up to the make-up department to meet with Safi to talk. She didn't want to admit to Rita that she was _right_. Vitaly, or 'Taly, was a challenge to her. His underrated wit and protectiveness combined with her sarcasm and joking made for a complicated relationship, but she understood it. How come?

She turned to her left and opened the curtains, expecting to see Safi finishing her wash but found that the golden lioness was not there. Her expression blanked for a bit before looking back to where she came. Did she finish already? She looked back in the department and shrugged. It didn't hurt to look around, did it? But as she took a second good look, she found things out of the ordinary. There were pawprints everywhere, some of the make-up was on the ground, including some of the stools and a few hat carriers.

She cleaned up a bit before noticing that the pawprints led outside the department, where the back of the circus tent was. She raised en eyebrow before following them out. Instantly her nose burned with different scents coming from all over the place. She recognized one as Safi's, and a few went unnoticed and others were familiar in a way, as she held her nose and opened her teary eyes, she noticed somehting shining on the ground. She walked towards it to take a closer look and nearly gasped in shock.

Safi's trademark earrings, three gold, were on the ground, and they looked to have a shiny red substance on them, as if they were torn... out... of her... ear. As the puzzle pieces finally connnected, Safēda felt like throwing up and sobbing. She shook for a moment in complete shock before she contained her composure and she roared in high alert and worry and ran back inside the tent.

Safi had been kidnapped.

**0O0**

**SHOCKER+CLIFFHANGER! As an added bonus, I kept the info of this chapter but a little bit a secret from friends XD I am SO BAD! XD **

**But really, who guessed or knew it was going to be Safi? I would LOVE to hear why and how you guys cam to that conclusion or if you thought it was going to be another character, I would love to knwo why you thought that too! XD While writing Marty and gabby's part, I was stumped, so I went with Gabby being mistreated and Marty realizing that when he was shown (Silly guy XD) and making her feel better with a tune.**

**I didn't know what song but then "BAD DAY" came into my head and I was like: _"OMG! THAT IS PERFECT!" _and so here you have it! Been years since I've heard that song but I still love it! X3**

**I REALLY hope you guys like this Chapter and hopefully 'TalyXKat isn't going too fast for you guys XD As well as other couples here. Good thing for you guys, the next two Chapters will be uploaded a lot faster because I've already have them planned! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! You ucky dogs! X3**

**Well, I'll go for now- READ AND REVIEW! :3**


	25. Lies and Promises

**Chapter XXV - Lies and Promises**

Stefano didn't know what else to do. He was scared, frightened, and worried. Not only for his hide but that of his friends. He hurried off to Vitaly's car and started to literally bang on it desperately. He hoped that Vitaly had a good night's sleep but, he needed the huge tiger _now_. "Vitaly-a! Vitaly-a! Come-a out-a!" he exclaimed, his bright brown eyes widening with worry. What fi he didn't wake up and they had to deal with _them_!? What if-

Instantly the dorr slid open to reveal that Vitaly was rubbing his head and massaging his ear. "Stefano, it is very early. Vat is problem?" the tiger asked, yawning, something resembling a sleepy roar. Stefano hugged Vitaly and started to sob.

"Vitaly! They-a came! They-a came and-a said we are-a liars and kidnappers-a!" the Sea Lion cried. Vitaly's ears flattened to his skull and he bared his fangs.

"Who did, Stefano?" the Sea Lion turned and pointed.

"_They_ did-a!"

0O0

Marty yawned sleepily, the nigt was admittingly one of the best he has had in awhile, though as much as he was sleepy and tired, he would not regret it. Gabby was, in short, a beauty. She was shy, but still a bit spunky from her few bits of stories of her life which were not tainted by sadness and woe, which were very few. She was pretty, though she believed herself to be an ugly mare who deserved to never be happy. That, marty thought, was the saddest part of any story she told him last night.

She resembled a pure white filly, like the Andalausian triplets, but to him, she was prettier. He tried to explain that to her but she would refuse to believe him and would instead change the subject.

They talked and talked, shared experiences with each other, gave tips, and Marty reassured her that he will be one of her truest friends. Then he had realized that the sky had suddenly turned pink. His ears perked and he stared to the east. A bit of twilight could be seen and then it came as a shock to the Zebra that he had stayed up _all_ night with her. Gabby noticed as well and apologized when keeping him from sleeping but Marty didn't care if he stayed up late with her, it was one of the most pleasant in his life.

Gabby was starstruck after that and Marty left, but not without giving her one last joke and a high hoof before running off. He only hoped that no one had seen him leave or enter the grounds. He would have to explain where he had been and he knew that Alex would give him another rant about making friends with other Circuses who wanted to ruin them.

He had washed himself up, his coat dirtied because of the horrible conditions of the _Circo Freak _circus and finally climbed onto his car and prepared to get maye a bit more hours, or hopefully a few minutes of sleep. As he closed his eyes, he heard was a few murmered voices coming from the outside. He shook his head, thinking that it might just be his lack of sleep but he could hear them getting louder and louder and he frowned. He opened his car door sleepily, yawning and his jaw dropped.

0O0

Oh he knew it, he _KNEW_ it! They were all fakers- just like the rest of them! It didn't matter if they were new to this competition, all aniamls were the same and they would do anything to win this competition. How DARE they!? How dare they kidnap his only chance at becoming the leader of the Circus? Now there were only two females in charge, and they needed a third and fourth wheel to help them. He wanted to be the ONLY leader, like Justinian, when he married Safi.

He growled in anger and his eyes momentarily looked to his side where Rita was. her face full of worry and horror. She was the lead tracker, and she recognized the path all too well. The path she and the others took to _Circo Zaragoza_, her old home. But how!? They couldn't have kidnapped Safi could they!? Kidogo merely smirked at her face, he knew exactly what she was thinking. He was right, and he knew it.

He turned to his other side where Saffy was looking down, not in saddness or shame, but guilt. She knew the scent was familiar and as they got closer and closer to their rival Circus, her ears drooped and the tigress secretly prayed that the path would change, but it did not. Her eyes trailed over to Kidogo who gave her a frown.

He wnated to make her feel like a child. She was naive, stupid, to think that tiger was a good guy. Oh yes, he knew, he knew that the White Tigress was smitten with _Zaragoza_'s tiger. To him, it was all too easy to spot. The male had been toying with her, trying to lower her guard in order to commit the crime, and instead of being smart about it and approaching it with caution, she chose to be young and idiotic and fall for the criminal. She would not only be heartbroken because of Safi's disappearance, but she would never take a male after this.

Very sad indeed.

The first one they had spotted was their small, and rather clumsy, Sea Lion. Estafan or something of the sort. He didn't care, all he wanted was to find Safi and to hopefully, if possible, strengthen her belief that he would be a great leader... and possible mate. The Sea Lion jumped at the sight of them and Kidogo made sure that Rita and Safēda were in the back, out of sight so they could see the wrong done to them.

He greeted them cheerfully until he spotted Kidogo's murderous look. How dare they stand there and pretend they did nothing. _HOW DARE THEY!_ The small Sea Lion trembled slightly and kindly asked why they were here. Kidogo had been more than generous to explain to him how things went, and, as soon as he finished, the Sea Lion ran off.

Sadly his loud sobbings had woken up the rest of the Circus and they were next greeted by a gaping Zebra, followed by a Jaguar and a Lion, follwoed by penguins as well as a Hippo and Giraffe and soon, everyone was out. Yawning and asking what this whole yahoo was about. The small Sea Lion then returned with just the male he was wanting to see, who was most likely responsible for this whole fiasco. The tiger.

Kidogo had walked straight up to him and it did not matter to him if the Tiger towered over him by a foot or two, all he wanted was to get his dear Safi back. Vitaly eyed him back, with just as much anger and malice as Kidogo had in his heart at that moment. The two stared intently at each other, Green eyes to Amber, until the tiger finally broke the silence between the two Circuses who awaited their leaders call.

"Vat you doing here? Stefano tells me you say that ve screw you over" Kidogo nodded fiercely, as much as he could to make a statement.

"Too right, you have! You know, the others trusted you but I knew better! All you animals are the same! You pretend your clueless about what goes on around here, but in reality you're planning everyone's downfall so that YOU could win!" he spat, his calws unsheathing. Vitaly bared his teeth once more and prepared to give Kidogo a piece of his mind before he spotted his old friend, as well as a certain female he pretty-much-did-not-know-how-he-felt-about-yet. Rita's eyes widened with worry, while Safēda's eyes looked swollen,a s if she had been sobbing her eyes out.

Intsantly he retracted his claws, he did not want to be the first one to start a possible fight. Not with them watching as well as everyone else. Alex slowly pushed Vitaly aside so the lion could face Kidogo. "Ok, look. We barely even knew there was such a thing like this a few weeks ago, and as you can see, everyone is tired so we could never have-"

"You could be sleepy because you stayed up all night trying to fit Safi in whatever crate you have with no oxygen for her to brethe in! Just give her back!" Jewel the Goose squacked. Her kin squacked in protest along with her. Kidogo smirked when Alex's face fell.

"Look, we all slept in our cars last night, so-"

"Uh" Marty butted in. Everyone's eyes turned on him and Marty was quick to hold his hoofs up to explain. "L-look, I was with a friend, if I can bring her, she will convince you that I had nothign to do with her, I barely came this morning to sleep!" Alex sighed. Darn it Marty, he almost gave him a heart attack. Kidogo merely frowned at the Stallion.

"I don't trust any of you! If what you all say is true, and you didn't take Safi, let us search your Circus. Most of us have keen senses of smell..." his eyes trailed ot the corner of his eye. Kidogo smirked inside. "Especially Safēda and Rita" he added. The two females slunked, while Alex looked at Gia as well as the rest of the others. They would agree, they had nothing to-

"Nyet! If you don't believe us, your loss! Ve did nothing!" Vitaly snarled, eyeing Kidogo who, in return, snarled back. Gia quickly cut in front of them.

"Now is not the time to fight! Vitaly! They will search! We have nothing to hide, so why bother?" She explained, looking at Vitaly, her gold eyes pleading him not to start something. Kidogo smirked and crossed his arms in triumph. He will deal with the Tiger _after_ he found the evidence.

"Listen to the little Jaguar girl, tiger. You attack me and you'll regret it!" Vitaly glared at Kidogo before huffing and crossing his arms.

"Fine"

0O0

The whole lot of Fantaisie had watched those from Zaragoza wait outside their cars, they made sure no one went in their own cars, for the belief that they would hide their evidence. They had searced and searched but found nothing. No clues, no scents, heck, not even a singly hair did they find that had anything written "Safi" all over it. As twilight turned into the afternoon, almost everyone's car had been checked. Everyone's except for Vitaly.

The tiger, this time, refused to elt any enter his car. Not even Kidogo. He didn't care, he didn't do anything and they should belive him! He had no reason to lie about that, he was telling the truth, but obviously Kidogo did not believe one word that came out fo the Tiger's muzzle. The two enganged in a ferocious battle of verbal wits and intimidation until Rita forced her way through the pile of animals that surrounded the two males.

With force, she knocked Kidogo aside and her eyes watered. "Vitaly, I know yu no do it. Just let us check. You no do it, we apologize. Let us check, and get it over vith. Please" she begged. Vitaly was about to tell her off until he watched as Rita shook violently. She was an old lioness, not very old but old, she missed her dear friend and only wanted to find her. same went for everyone. They just lost their leader and if they didn't do this, how were they ever going to find out?

Gia stepped foward as well and tugged his arm. "Vitaly,I knwo you do not like it. But understand, Safi was like a mother to all of them, and she wa fair. They just want to find her. You would do the same thing for me, so please.." she went back into the pile next to Alex who studied Vitaly.

The tiger shook, fighting his pride back down until he sighed and nodded. He turned and Alex gave him a nod. No matter what, Alex would never turn his back on his friends, guilty or not. Rita was about to enter to search until Kidogo grabbed her arm and pulled it back. He had a nice idea. He turned his head and smiled. "Safēda. _You_ do it" he proposed. The tigress jumped at the sound of her name and her eyes widened.

Going into _his _car? To see if he was guilty? But he said he wasn't... then again, what if she found something? "I... can't" she replied, sulkign even more. "I- I just want to get Safi but-"

"Then sniff his car out." Kidogo said. Rita frowned at him she knew his plan, he wanted to make Saffy see her mistake in trusting others. HER mistake. Safēda momentarily locked eyes with Vitaly. He nodded, giving her permission. If anyone had to search him, he would choose _her_, and he hoped she knew it.

Sighing, the tigress walked foward and entered his car. Kidogo smiled, "I'll close the door so unsavory elements won't ruin the scent" he said, and closed the car door. It was then when Safēda heard him complaining wbout Rita pulling and biting his ear. The tigress sighed and looked around Vitaly's car. He had a lot of stuff. Mainly knives and such, a few propaganda posters as well as a few plushies of him and his friends. Cute.

She went to work and started to sniff around anywhere where they might have hidden clues or evidence. She found nothing pertaining to Safi or her scent, and only stopped when she opened a drawer and saw many his old pictures. She smiled slightly when she picked up an old, worn out photograph with a newborn tiger cub. His emerald green eyes widened as he explored his surroundings and wondering why in the world he was not touching the ground. She picked up another to show the same cub with a little Sea Lion pup with curly whiskers, the two were playing with each other and the cub was careful not to crush him.

She spotted another where the two amigos were playing with a female tiger cub as well as helping a small jaguar cub to walk and jump. Cute. She looked around the drawers and found more pictures, mostly with him in it, showing the old days of the Circus. With each picture that she took out and examined, she felt like she was becoming closer and closer to the tiger waiting outside, until she reminded herself of her mission. While sniffing out anything once more, she opened a few more drawers with nothing but hoops and rings. She took one out, frowning at it before putting it back in the drawer and trying to pick up a scent once more.

She searched and searched around the desk, around his hammock, on his shelves, every corner of his car, and finally went to search around the knives. She sighed to herself in peace, knowing that if she found nothing here, that meant that_ Zaragoza _was right in their claims, and someone else had taken Safi from her. And they would help too, hopefully, surely they would, right? But that was not to be.

At first, when she caught the scent, she actually turned to see if Safi had magically appeared behind her, to give her a reassuring smile that she was there, but she found no one. The tigress gulped, a thought lingering in her head and as she started to sniff again, the scent came at her full force. Knowing what to do, she quickly moved the knives around as carefully as she could so as to not get cut or sliced and she almost yelped when she found what she had caught.

Old beads. Colorful ones, with vibrant colors, dangling from one of the Knife . She took it from there and examined it. She remembered searching Safi's quarters and the make-up department for anything missing. She remembered not seeing her beads in her jewelery box. Tears threatened to over take her as she held the necklace. The familiar scent outside the tent, the lost beads, the flirting and talking, it all made sense.

These were Safi's missing beads.

She growled lowly, before turning, the beads enveloped in her fist, she slammed the door open, surprising everyone there, while she glared hatefully at the tiger. How dare he... _HOW DARE HE_! He LIED to them! All of them! Including _her_!

Quick as a flash, Safēda ran towards him, never minding the worried look Rita gave her, and slashed her claws across the tiger's cheek. Vitaly's eyes widened as he felt sharp pain in his cheek and roared. "Vat vas _that _for!?" he exclaimed. Safēda growled and held the necklace in his face. The animals from _Fantaisie_ gasped and murmered to themselves. That was _Safi_'s necklace. Safēda baed her fangs and growled once more.

"_THIS _is why! You no good LIAR!" Vitaly growled and took the necklace from her paws.

"I never seen necklace in LIFE!"

"And still he denies it!" Kidogo exclaimed loudly for everyone to hear. Rita shook her head in disbelief.

"No, he couldn't have done- no I don't belive it" she whispered sadly. Kidogo smugly smiled at the tiger.

"See? I was right, wasn't I? The evidence is right there! Safi's missing necklace from the night before has been found in your Circus... so now, where is she?"

"But we don't have her! There must be some mistake-" Gia said, as shocked as everyone else was at the finding. She looked at Vitaly, and cringed at the sight of his messy cheek. "We did no such thing! Safi was our friend! We would never hurt her!"

"Doesn't matter" Safēda growled. "You better give Safi back or I'll-"

"They no do it!" Rita exclaimed. "I know these animals! They family! They no hurt Safi! Never!" Kidogo frowned.

"So you back up the kidnappers? Not us? Your family, Rita? I thought Safi was your friend!" he said, feigning believable sadness. The animals protested against her.

_"How could you Rita!"  
"Traitor!"  
"Why!? After all we've done to make oyu feel at home-"  
"If they're more than your family, why don't you stay with them!?"  
"Yeah! Kick her out!" _

Rita sputtered, she had no way of choosing one Circus for another. She looked back at _Zaragoza_, there was completely no way these animals had the heart to do something so bad. They could never do that. She looked back at those from _Fantaisie_. She had known them almost as much as she had known _Zaragoza_, she could never pick one family out of two. Safēda had then angrily snatched away the beads from Vitaly's paw, looking him in the eyes and caught an emotion she hadn't seen before: _Sadness_. She growled before she angrily, and sadly, walked away.

She was stupid. She was so _stupid_! How could she had let her guard down merely because Safi had said so? It was all her fault, she should have never let her guard down, even for mere hours, she should have never done it! But then why did he seem so sad? Bah! It must have been because he had been caught! Dumb tiger! Stupid, stupid,_ stupid_! Kidogo took her sign of walking away as giving up. Pathetic. However, it may come in handy if they spread this little fiasco around. That'll teach them!

He turned to face the animals. "Alright, fellas. They won't give us Safi, so I guess we'll have to leave and search for other means to make them" with that he turned and marched away. The animals glared at the _Zaragoza _animals before they turned themselves and with caution. For all they knew, they could be the next ones to be kidnapped. Stefano sobbed even harder than before and clung onto Gia while she hugged him, biting her lip to keep from crying.

They were in huge toruble, and they didn't even deserve to be. Vitaly tightened his fists, glaring after the lion. He had a big mouth, he did. He may foold everyone else but he will not fool Vitaly. No one did. Alex stood next to him, glaring after the animals before he lightly commented.

"That guy wasn't so nice". Vitaly had the grace to then stare at the lion incredulously.

"You _think_?"

0O0

Grace and the rest watched from afar as the whole scene took place. A smal smile ran through her lips when Safēda had entered the tiger's car. There they would find it. They had carefully planned it oh so precisely. So she could take her time in searching everywhere most likely to hide evidence, and she would get a little sneak peek at the other tiger's little life. She had to admit, it was too perfect.

Now with loyalty and trust broken on both sides, the two Circuses will most likely crumble, which only left _Circo de Flora _and _Circo Freak_ left. And then theirs would be the only one to win not only the competition but as well as the 1 million dollars in cash prize. Shida paced back and forth, reciting what was to happen and how the plan will help them advance. Her mate, Solide, merely yawned and eyed _Zaragoza _boredly. He only showed interest when Safēda had come out of the car and took a good swing at the tiger.

"Oooh" he mused. "That has got to hurt, well, from my perspective" Grace rolled her eyes. She mainly focused at what the lion, Alex, did. He merely stared and stayed close to that jaguar girl. How dare he. He was so stupid! But that allowed for him to see how protective he was of his mate than anyone else. Shida had stopped reciting and smiled nastily when those from _Fantaisie _started to leave.

"Good. All we need is to increase tension between the other Circuses against them and we'd get all four others to the carefull planning of one!" she said excitedly, reciting the exact words that her father had spoken to them the night before. Solide merely rolled his eyes before getting up.

"Well, you guys stay and watch further. I'll go back and tell Kaden that everything is working perfectly" and the cheetach ran off, leaving his mate and Grace alone. The light brown lioness tilted her head and then turned to Shida, who was happily prancing around.

"Well, do we sit here and watch what else happens?" she asked. Shida rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Of course! We need to see their reaction, remember! Always use a situation to your best advantage!" she sang as if it was one of her favorite songs. Grace groaned and covered her eyes.

"You are so embarrassing, Shida. I can't believe Solide fell for _you_"

"What can I say? I'm irresitable"

"Yeah, don't believe everything your daddy says... like when he tells you you're pretty" she smirked. Shida pouted before stalking off.

"Fine. You watch them alone. Consider this as punishment!" and then Shida disappeared. Grace was about to call after her to come back but stepped on her own tail to remind her that if that were to happen, they would be caught... or rather she would be caught. She can't risk the mission... not even for her own good. Darn it all.

Knowing that there would be nothing else that would be very interesting, she decided to make herself comfortable and laid down.

0O0

Iggy didn't know what to expect when he didn't find his mother next to him. Then when he spotted the other grownups leaving off, he decided to follow behind, but at a reasonable distance. When he had arrived at _Zaragoza_, he wanted nothig more than to jump out and introduce all of his Circus to them. It seems as if they finally decided to become friends.

But when Kidogo claimed that they had lied to them and kidnapped his mother. All he could do was stare in horror. Where was his mother? They were lying weren't they? About his mother!? But when Kidogo and the other animals started to search, his fear multiplied and then sunk everytime they did a search and found nothing.

Then they came to Tiger stuff's car. And when Saffy came out and held the beads in his face. Iggy couldn't, no he didn't, want to believe it. Had his new friends really taken his mother away? When the adults had left, the animals murmered to themselves just enough so Iggy could hear correctly.

"Vitaly what are we gonna do?"  
"Why are they blaming us?"  
"How did those beads get in Vitaly's car!?"  
"You didn't just take those did you, Vitaly?"  
"NYET!"

Iggy stared at mainly Alex who rubbed the back of his mane, his brow furrowing. "Well we can't just stay here and let this happen! We'll find Safi and then we'll prove that lion wrong! We need to expose whoever did this!" Iggy then ran out of his hiding spot and hugged Alex who jumped at the sudden hug the cub gave him. Everyone gasped as they saw Iggy suddenly appear.

"I want my mommy!" he cried. Gia picked him up and hugged him tenderly.

"Don't worry, Iggy. We'll find your _mama_. We'll find her and see to it that she is okay, or whoever hurt her will get it! _Promessa_!" she said sadly. Alex nodded his head.

"Don't worry kiddo, we'll do whatever it takes to get your mom back! And make sure your family doesn't know that you're still here, we don't want you to get in trouble and not see us again" Gloria then cooed at the little cub, tears running down his muzzle.

"Don't worry sweetie, we'll find your mama. We're gonna help! All you need to do is help us with a little bit of detective work and hopefully you can get Rita to help us" Vitaly grimaced. His back was turned to everyone, he didn't want to face him. It was his fault. If he hadn't been so tired yesterday, he might have picked up the scent and returned it to them or had done somehting to prevent this. Soon everyone would think their Circus had kidnapped a loved one. And they could do nothing to stop it.

Iggy sniffed before looking over to Vitaly and sulked a bit. "What about you, Tiger stuff? Will you help too?" he asked. Vitaly was shocked to hear the cub speak to him and slightly turned. He nodded. This wasn't going to get him to stop. No, their Circus would win and then would they have the right to claim that they hadn't stolen Safi.

With luck, they would even find the real culprit, whoever that was.

**0O0**

**I don't particularly like this Chapter so much as when I planned it... meh. Well I hope you guys still find it to your liking! I know, too serious and I don't think I made it as emotional as I wanted it to be but that it entirely up to you. So we have _Zaragoza _in the middle of this long fiasco between Circuses and find themselves pawns in a game they never expected to play, _Fantaisie _is brutally damaged with the loss of their leader and picking a new one is going to bring a lot of arguments and, of course, doubt.**

**And so relationships and friendships are put to the test. Especially Vitaly and Saffy's. Distrust between them, right when they were about to really hit it off. I just like to ruin your expectations don't I? Flame me, fi you want to do so -_-**

**And for those of you wondering, if you could, why iggy's reaction to them isn't like 'I HATE YOU! YOU TOOK MY MOMMY!" well he just saw both sides without interference. Some kids are entirely innocent until they are corrupted to one side. So Iggy is thinking that his friend's never hurt his mom. After all, his mom was nice to everyone and helped them when they all landed on one another, why hate her?**

**So there you have it! :3**

**Uzuri, OUT! And do give me more ideas about what could happen next guys, who knows, I might use'em ;) **


	26. Not Everyone Is Bad

**Chapter XXVI - Not Everyone Is Bad**

She opened her eyes slightly. At first, her body felt relaxed and calm but as soon as she could move her limbs, they instantly became stiff and uncomfortable. She still felt groggy from the nap she had taken. She expected for it to be morning already, but little did she know that there would be no one but her own thoughts to greet her. Her gold eyes shined through the dark and she looked around. nothing but pens covered in sheets surrounded her, and each pen seemed to have somehting inside it, something alive... hopefully.

She got up as best as she could but instantly feel victim to both the gravity and her worn out body. She collasped and groaned. Where was she? Why was she here? She struggled to get up again but only managed ot collapse once more onto the hard metal florring of her pen. No hay to be found to lay softly on. Just great.

"Don't get up. You'll just pass out from the exhaustion again. Then we won't have much use for you, now will we?" somone said, mildly amused. Safi turned her head sharply to the direction she had heard the voice and came face to face with a much smaller lioness. The brownish lioness smiled slyly and circled her pen. Safi immediately recognized this female._ Shida_.

"Shida! What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" the brown female rolled her eyes and started walking off.

"You'll see soon. Daddy! She's awake!" the gold lioness stared after her, puzzlement dictating her facial features. What did she mean by that statement? Shida had soon disappeared behind the curtains, then she came back again, but she wasn't alone. Kaden walked slolwy towards the pen and Safi growled. Not him.

"Kaden! What the heck are you doing!? Get me out of here!" Kaden snorted before shooing his daughter away. Shida left hastily, leaving the two leaders to themselves. "I won't ask oyu again: What am I doing here!?" Kaden scratched his sharp nose thoughtfully before smirking.

"Well... for starters, you are in a pen, that is the extent of my knowledge at this very moment. But if you must know you're in the old digger's construction site" Safi's ears perked at the hearing the name of the abandoned site the humans had decided not ot build and left it here for future use.

"Why am I here?"

"Well, second, it's the only secluded place here. Nothing but that stupid hill behind all of our Circuses, with not even a small hole to fit through. However, this place is perfect! Lots of places to hide things, and the fact that it is uninhabited makes the humans supersitious about it. No one will think of searching for you here" he smirked, his pride higher than it was usually at this cleverly thought out hideout for his kind to plot. Safi growled and swung a claw at the bars in front of her.

"Get em out! This is inhumane! Why do you even want me!? I've done nothing to hurt any of you"

"Ah, Safi, the only thing you've hurt is my Circuses chances of winning. With yours toppling over and out of the way, we are no longer second place... but to make sure we've also taken out your newer friends as well. We only need _Freak _and _Flora _next and then we'll be guranteed to win this whole competition-"

"You're an idiot! My circus can do fine without me, and I assure you, I have not fully known so much about _Zaragoza _but I DO know that they won't let some joke you played get in their way, and they can help with my Circus-"

"Oh, but that's where you are wrong, Safi. You see, my associates have done a great job to fully break your ties with them apart. It's very unfortunate that they found your necklace in the tiger's car... and more upset that your little daughter found them. It seems as if she really is hurt at their betrayal" Safi gaped.

"You FRAMED them!? How could you!?"

"All in a fair game's play, Safi. You should know that. That father of yours along with his merry sidekick of a tiger did the same to me" the lion turned, ignoring Safi's loud cries.

"But you said you had no hard feelings! That it was all in the past-"

"Even you should know that it is easy to fool a winner, Safi" Kaden merely responded before leaving the lioness alone. Safi sniffed before growling. Kaden will get it, if anyone gets hurt because of him, he will regret dearly! She turned herself so as to not face the entrance and laid down. She hoped her little Iggy was fine and that Saffy was smart enough to look through this. She should not be harrassing them for her kidnapping. Hopefully Rita would help everyone see that it is a fraud... how, she did not know.

"Miss, you be sad. You ok?" a small voice spoke. Safi jumped and turned her head to see a small little grizzly cub in another pen next to hers. Safi shook her head.

"No, I'm not. My family is being tricked, and I can't do anything about it. If they react as violently as Kaden led me to believe, both of the Circuses are doomed" the cub sniffed.

"Well, I think you lucky. Kaden had others poison me papa. And he took me to make sure that they no try any funny business. He never tells me if they okay or not... me sad" the cub spoke. Safi's jaw widened in shock. Did this cub really mena what he had said? Did Kaden really posion his father, and took him in order to win a stupid competition!? She growled in fury. Oh yeah, when she got out, the first thing she'd do is attack him, then nag at him, then attack, then nag. She turned ot the small cub who cowered in the shadows.

"What is your name, little cub?" the small bear sniffed before responding.

"Yuuri" Safi nodded.

"Well, Yuuri, I'm gonna let you know something" she scooted closer over to the side of the small cub's pen. "I'm busting out of here. And I am going to let you go too, we just gotta figure out first" the cub's ears perked up.

"What if they come and beat us? Me no wanna be beat. No again" the cub sniffed. Safi blinked.

"They _beat _you?"

"If me no follow orders. I beat. Me no like being beat" the cub sniffed again. Safi glowered. How dare Kaden. First he decides to kidnap her to cause havoc within her circus, then he stoops lower by framing her new friends, then she finds out that he had done this... it was too much to bear. She was getting out, no matter what. She moved closer to the cub.

"Well, I'm getting out. So are you. If we get caught, I promise you, they won't beat you, but if they don't and you escape, I want you to go to my Circus and tell them where I am. Look for a white tigress with anger issues" the cub sniffed before getting up and shook a bit.

"What if me no make it?"

"It'll be too late when they realize you're gone. Besides, there are plenty of places for you to hide, I doubt they have searched every inch of this place" the cub sniffed once more before curling up to sleep.

"OK. Me help you. But me is tired... and hungry" Safi nodded understandingly.

"Alright, I'll let you rest. Goodnight, Yuuri"

0O0

Catalina hurried from the kitchen. When she had gotten home, Bruno had given a hissy fit and she then told him how she could take care of herself. Honestly, he got on her nerves all too often, it was becoming a habit for him. She couldn't help it, bruno was her friend. Why couldn't he understand that? She just wanted to be friends, just friends. She hurried with another batch of choloclates and a few bits of muffins and brownies until she made it to the border. She looked back. Any minute Bruno would wake up and see her gone and she had to run fats before he caught up.

Before she took one more step, she heard rustling in the grass and turned to see a few of her friends coming after her. "Lina! Don't leave! You _can't_ leave!" they called which made Catalina curse under her breath. They caught her. She turned to leave until an American Mastiff appeared in front of her. "Lina! We told you already, you can't leave!" the little Sea Lioness pouted.

"And why not? I can make my own decisions! I'm a big girl!" the mastiff fidgeted a bit before answering.

"We heard from Bruno about that Circus you hang out with. We hear they're not good. Rumor says that someone's been kidnapped last night" Catalina rolled her eyes.

"That's rubbish, Pedro. They are my friends. I can see them whenever I want, besides, they are too nice to be involved in somehting that big. Now come on, Pedro. I promised yesterday to go-" as she turned to walk around the huge dog, another blocked her path, a small monkey.

"Catalina, we love you, and we respect you and everything but Bruno said-"

"Wait, wait, wait, woah, woah... did Bruno set you guys up for this?" she asked. The two looked at each other and nodded at her sheepishly. Catalina groaned. Bruno was becoming so overprotective of her... can he just stop for once? She was starting to dislike him again. She sighed and pulled out a few muffins, brownies, and chocolates from her small basket.

"I'll give you guys one of each of you promise to let me go and runo busy until I come back. make up some lie, do anything, but DON'T tell him where I am" the two looked at each other.

"Alright, Lina" Pedro nodded. "Because we love you, and Bruno was a real jerk about it... plus those snacks do look tasty..." Catalina threw them the promised goods plus a bit more.

"A tip" she giggled before wadlding off. And, as promised, her friends ran off towards the Circus to keep their part of the bargain. they just hoped that Lina would be back in order to to keep Bruno off their backs. Meanwhile, Catalina had ran as fast as she could with her small flippers towards the desolated path she usually took towards their Circus. When she neared, she saw something odd. Some of the animals that she had recognized from _Fantaisie_ were leaving _Zaragoza_.

She found it even more curious that Safyy wa leading them away, she didn't see Safi or Rita anywhere... not even Iggy, which was a surprise because the cub always loved coming over here... was what she had heard from Stefano. She held her little basket firmly in her flippers and once she had gotten into their grounds, saw that the animals from _Fantaisie_ were already just a few dots down. She soon spotted the others and were about to call out thei rnames until she noticed something was off.

They were all shocked, upset, and they looked as if they had been beaten down in the dirt. She looked at Stefano and Iggy who were sobbing their eyes out, Gia who was holding them both tightly and trying to calm them all the while being hugged by Alex, while Vitaly was rubbing his paw absentmindedly over the messy claw marks on his cheek... wait WHAT!? She ran over to the the four and gasped.

"What happened!?" she exclaimed. Everyone jumped at the sound of her voice. Vitaly merely huffed angrily before walkign into his car. He had to clean that little scratch off before he got infected. Stefano gasped and cleaned himself up. How embarrassing, crying in front of her like that, she must have thought he was a wimp now. Gia sighed before she explained what had happened.

Catalina couldn't help but have her mouth wide open to the tale. Saffy had swiped Vitaly, Kidogo had basically claimed they were kidnappers, and Iggy had seen it all with his own eyes. the cub tore away from Gia to hug Catalina. He didn't know Gia as much, but he did know Catalina because she was one of Saffy's friends. Catalina shushed the little cub as she continued to hear the end of the story. When she was finished, Stefano waddled over to Catalina, slightly sobbing.

"Catalina, we haven't-a done nothing-a! I-a promise-a! We have-a done nothing-a! We all-a liked Safi, and-a we never do-a anything to-a hurt anyone-a!" Catalina blinked before she patted Iggy's back when he started to choke.

"I don't believe anything what Kidogo says. I left here pretty late, right about the time they calimed Safi was kidnapped and all of you were here. I don't think you guys are responsible for this" Stefano stared at Catalina as if she was his saving grace. She belived them when the others did not. She was surely somehting special. _Mama Mia_ did a wonderful job with her! Catalina took a few chocolate bites out of her basket and gave a few to Gia, Alex, Iggy and Stefano. She wanted to give one to Vitaly but Gi and the others advised against it.

He wasn't so hot right now.

She agreed nonetheless, remembering how horrible he looked when he left and turned her head back at Stefano who felt much better. "So tough guy" she giggled, patting his shoulder. "We made a small appointment with a certain Cannon" Stefano perked up and nodded his head quickly.

"Oh-a! Yes-a! I'll-a show-a you! Come on-a!"

0O0

She didn't know hoe to feel. A part of her told her she was wrong in being quick to accuse them without giving them a chance, another part told her she was stupid for falling so fast and ended getting her heart broken. cursed and swung a paw at nothing. She had asked for everyone to leave her alone, in peace, until she was able to find her sanity again. She lost one mother. She won't lose another. Not again. Stupid tiger. Why did he make her feel like she did. She was so confused.

She held her head in between her paws and closed her eyes. She just wanted to disappear, to make the pain that ached inside her stop. She caught a whiff of a combination of grass and rose perfume and turned her head to face Rita.

"I said, NO one could come in here" Rita furrowed her brow before taking her place beside the tigress.

"Either vay, you cannot ignore me. Hear me out. I can tell you vy I think _Zaragoza_ no do such thing to kidnap Safi" Safēda groaned but resolved to listen. If she didn't know, Rita would use other means to make her listen. Rita always did. The lioness crossed her forepaws and sighed. "_Zaragoza_ was always small Circus. They never see dark side of world. It was alvays smiles and laughs. They never got corrupt and evil like other Circus animals. They never heard of any competitions. _Ever_." she explained before smiling a bit. "Animals there are really good and kind. Gia was alvays bubbly and willing to try new things. Stefano was always compassionate and was able to make everyone laugh. Vitaly..." she paused, giving the tigress a sly look. "I cannot begin. He vas most talented animal. He vas full of passion, he alvays cheered everyone up, he never stopped trying harder and take risks. He loved the thrill of it all... he was a true Circus animals at heart"

Safēda snorted. She honsetly did not belive everything Rita had said about the tiger. The lioness frowned at her but decided not to argue with her. "Anyvays... _Circo Zaragoza _alvays had animals who were never to sure whether or not they were best in vorld. In Europe. But Vitaly and the others pushed them on to do best. Besides, if they did kidnap Safi, do you think animals like zem vould have acted like zat? They would be nervous and edgy. And Catalina was vith them when they left. If you ask her ven she left, it could clear things up. You no think?" Safēda nodded.

Partly bored, partly unmoved by the small reasoning Rita drew for her. "Sorry Rita, but, those are prety stupid reasons for me to change my mind. I'm leaving" the tigress got up while Rita bit her lip. This was her last chance. She had to tell her or she would never see the light.

"Vell, I guess you won't want to hear more about before I vas sold off to you. Ven I vas with _Zaragoza_. I think you'll like this story... either vay, you have no choice" Safēda paused and growled. She turned and sat down next to Rita. The lioness smiled before speaking. "This was ven I vas still teen. Vitaly and the others vere younger than me. And.. vell, you see"

_0O0_

_The red tiger patrolled around the inside of the tent, nodding his head and speaking to the many animals every now and them, telling them how great they would be and how this time there would be more than a full house. The animals would thank him with smiles and good lucks, but Vitaly preferred it that way. It was more special in a way. A small, yet petite, lioness watched his every move from afar, eyeing his every move and smilign whenever he made a comment._

_Vitaly. He was passionate about what he did, heck, he loved it. The Ring master paid hardly any mind to the other animals, only to Vitaly. It bothered the others but his demeanor never had changed from a little cub to a handsome adult. Rita eyed his felxing muscles behind his fur, and the way he would raise his eyebrow, and show a bit of his fangs a bit whenever he smirked. Why was that so captivating to her?_

_True, she won't lie, she had a crush on Vitaly ever since she was bought. He was always so kind to her, so affectionate whenever she felt down, and open whenever she needed someone to turn to. She always turned to him. Sadly, his roving eye was caught only by one girl, and one girl only. Irina. Truthfully, Rita did like her, but the tigress was always oblivious to the male's affections. It was as if she never really paid any attention to him._

_Vitaly never noticed, he just thought she was taking her time. But she, Rita, knew better. Irina had no spot for Vitaly in her heart, it was meant for another individual, but Irina was too nice to say it to his face. She though ignoring him whenever he spoke to her like some lovesick kitty would help, apparently that made him more determined. Rita would growl whenever she turned him down._

_Did she not see what she was doing? Did she not see who she was turned away? Rita's claws would extend and she felt like getting in Irina's face and giving her a good shake to make her realize it was _Vitaly _she did not want. Rita sighed when Vitaly had caught sight of Irina and she started to walk away. He pouted but his smile returned when another one of the Circus animals greeted him nicely. Rita frowned. That was it! She couldn't take it that Irina would just do that, Vitaly needed someone else to tell him... or to make his attention someone else's. She looked around slyly. Well, with no other feline but Gia, and he saw her as a little sister, she puffed out her chest._

_Yes, _she _would be the one Vitaly woudl dream for at night, and she would make sure of that! She turned to leave, cackling to herself. Her plan was very simple: Usurp Irina's position, beat her at everything and surely Vitaly would notice. Rita wasn't that good at hoops but she was determined to be better, if that is what he wanted. She would visit him daily, sweet talk, flirt with him, maybe even bathe him a bit, and surely he would see her in a new light and forget completely about Irina. Surely he will._

_As weeks passed and show after show, Rita did her best to not entriely show herself off but to try her hardest at beating Irina at almost everything she did. Her focus was never so precise and excellent. Sadly, all these efforts, though seemed to be extending and growing, Vitaly did not once look her in the eyes with love or attraction. He still gave that same look to Irina, even though she was getting so much better at almost everything than she. She swiped the dirt in anger, why? Why her!? Vitaly deserved so much better and she was willing to give him such, why couldn't she catch Irina screwing up and informing Vitaly so that he would forever leave her? _

_That fateful encounter only happened once. ONCE. And Rita had caught them. She was just coming from the lake they had decided to drop off and was bathing her wet fur and decided tp enter inside the tent. It was empty, the others had gone for a swim too and she was one of the first to come back. Or so she thought._

_"Haha! Adui! Stop! That tickles!" she heard Irina's voice giggle. rita's ears perked up and she slowly found her way around the tent until she had arived at the place where Irina and the lion Adui were in. He was trying to play with her, tickling her stomach and laughing with her. Rita wrinkled her nose in disgust. Adui was always a jerk, and he absolutely did not want anything to do with her. Good riddance. The humans bought her to mate with him but there was no way that was happening, so how come he acted much differently with Irina?_

_The lion laughed once more before nuzzling her. "Ha! I can stop tickling whenever I want!" he exclaimed, digging his paws harder into the female's stomach. irina laughed harder until she pushed a paw in the lion's face and he fell back. Irina pounced on his and nuzzled him._

_"You're so funny, Adui" she smirked. Adui did as well and blew some hair out of his brown mane. _

_"Yeah, I know"_

_"And cute"_

_"Oh stop it you" Adui joked, fluttering his eyes in a girl fashion. Irina burst out laughing and covered her muzzle. The others could hear her. Rita stared, no, gawped at them. They were fliritng? With each other? They were playing like cubs and calling each other 'cute'!? How can the two be so idiotic!? But, Rita rubbed her paws together readily, this may be the sign given to her so that Vitaly could finally be hers. When his heart had broken, she would be the one making him feel better and he could finally see whatv he had been so blinded about._

_She turned to run to back to the lake, to tell Vitaly about the scene she had seen but found herself face to face with a tiger that was not Vitaly. This male was smaller, and much slimmer than Vitaly, but still had an air of authority and power. Rita recognized him as the old male tiger Vitaly looked up to as a cub. This male had trained him to take him hoop jumping to another level. This tiger was Vitaly's teacher. His orange eyes pierced through her, examining her. He then peeked behind her and saw that Adui and Irina were still laughing together and flirting. _

_"So I see you found them together. Pity, I hoped no one esle would" This tiger, Vitaly's _teacher_, had caught the tigress and the lion once, and never told any of them!? Her face grew hot and red with anger. _

_"You never told any of us, did you!?" she spat. The male shook his head. Rita snarled quietly, sure, she was mad, but she didn't want Irina and Adui to think that she was spying on them, even though she was. The old tiger pushed her away from the scene and onto a desolated part of the tent. _

_"I have my reasons why, Rita" he spoke suddenly, sitting down. "I was angry at first. Yes. And don't give me that look, it's true" he sighed. "And I wanted to tell Vitaly, I truly did. If he found out the hard way, he'd be hurt. But there is a reason I had not. You see, if I told, Irina would lose her trust in me, Adui would have done everything to make my days worse than before, Vitaly would be brokenhearted. You have to think of the feelings of others. Sure, you may say I am doing this for my own good, and part of it is true, but do you want to ruin the lives of three animals and probably others as well?"_

_Rita thought. What he said was true, but it complete nonsense. Why shouldn't she tell? The old tiger eyed her before sighing once more. "I know you like Vitaly, Rita. So think of him. If Vitaly finds out about this little scene, do you think he will like you any more because you ruined a chance he could have had but never had taken action?" Rita started to doodle on the dirt under her. Okay. That was true, she didn't know how Vitaly would react. How would he anyways? The tiger nodded his head, as if he agreed with her point of thinking. As if he could've known... with his old magic powers he might have. _

_"Well, think this through... whatever you decide, it's up to you, and I won't think any less of you" and the tiger walked out, leaving rita to think it through. She never would want to upset Vitaly, but he needed to know! She didn't want to give him a broken heart so that she could use to her advantage and form some sort of fake love, but she loved him! She couldn't hurt him, but it was the only way! Her emotions fought with one another, for minutes, hours, all day, until the others arrived from the lake and Vitaly was the first to spot her and greet her._

_"'Ey, Rita! Vere is Irina?" he asked, smiling widely. Rita bit her lip. Should she tell, should she not? She spotted the old tiger from far away, giving her an encouraging smile. _'whatever you decide, it's up to you, and I won't think any less of you'_. Rita sighed and smiled at Vitaly. _

_"I don't know, 'Taly. She may be practicing her hoop jumping. Try looking there" the male tiger smiled and her and patted her head. _

_"Ah no vorries, I look later" he then walked off. Rita sighed. Her one chance, ruined, but at least Vitaly wasn't sad. The old tiger patted her back and smiled. _

_"Good choice. Not the best, he will find out later on, who knows how, but hopefully you've saved him sorrow for now. Let's go. I've got some steak left, you can have it" and with one big, proud smile, the old Tiger led Rita towards his car to find that special steak he had promised her. _

_0O0_

Rita finished her tale with a big yawn, making Safēda frown. "That was the shortest story you've ever told me and you never yawn at the big ones. What is _wrong_ with you?" Rita merely rolled her eyes and smiled. Safēda frowned once more. "So why are you smiling? What's the moral of this story? Why did you even tell me!? This has exactly nothing to do with this!" she exclaimed. Rita's smiled nearly widened.

"Vell, during mission to ruin Irina and get vith Vitaly, do you know who talked sense into me?"

"That old tiger? I know, you told me-"

"You no know his name" Rita said quickly, smirking. Safēda rolled her eyes and nodded her head.

"Yeah, you never exactly _told_ me" Rita's smirk widened and she yawned sleepily before laying her head on her paws.

"Eet vas your grandfather, Alexei" the look on Safēda's face was so priceless, Rita wished Safi was here to see it. And Iggy... and the others. This was too priceless to share alone. But instead of calling the others, Rita exploded with laughter. Safēda's jaw was still wide open, her eyes were wide with shock and her fingers were spread apart. Rita took one more look before bursting into more laughter.

"A-Alexei... t-told y-you... _that_!?" she asked loudly. The animals outside the pens murmured in curiousity. Saffy always refrained from saying her grandfather's name, so why did she say it now? Rita cleared a tear from her eyes and giggled.

"Yes. It vas him. Both of us sold together, your Circus bought him, and I vas bought other Circus, then other before coming to you guys" she smiled. Safēda shook her head and turned herself so as to not to look at Rita. "All the more not to trust them. He may have poisoned their ways" Rita's grin disappeared. She frowned. Great. All that story was told, and for absolutely nothing at all! She sighed and got up, walking out of the pen. She turned back, looking at Saffy's slim frame. Even now, the tigress resembled her grandfather.

"You know, not everyone vas bad" she spoke before she disappeared behind the curtain. Safēda's facial features softened. She groaned and turned herself on her back so she was facing the metal roof of their pen. Stupid Alexei. Stupid Vitaly. Stupid her. Why did this have to happen to her? Why did she have to find out this way? Coming from Rita who knew her grandfather, as a teen, that he was never bad. So what made him bad? She shook her head and huffed.

So... he trained Vitaly... all the more reason to belive he was like her grandfather... but if Alexei had trained him before he turned all mean and nasty, was it possible that he was the same as his old mentor? She shook her head. No. They kidnapped Safi, she shouldn't grow curious just because they were her grandfather's old Circus... damn it, so why did she even think about it? She turned herself once more and huffed again.

"Damn you Vitaly..." she spoke softly. However she wanted to deny it badly, Rita was right. How could Zaragoza even kidnap her mother? She was right when she said that they may have been nervous, so far as she was concerned, she has never heard of Zaragoza before... and they may have never heard of this competition as well. Other than that, Lina was with them, and the tigress could ask her when she left and if everyone was there when they had arrived at their Circus. It was only so much she could hope for.

Why did she hope?

She growled and finally got up. That's it. She had made up her mind. She walked out of her pen and headed hte opposite way, she slid under the silky frame of the tent material and ran off towards _Circo Zaragoza_. The right thing. Safi would want her to do the right thing, she was only going to hope that she made a good decision.

0O0

Goosebumps... she had goosebumps everywhere... but didn't only humans have them? Oh well, either way, she was dead nervous. She entered the small hole of the canon and squeezed through the dynamite the penguins had so graciously put in for her. She made herself comfortable in the small hole and waved eagerly at Stefano who waved back at her, a big grin on his face. She put on a fake smiled and took deep breaths.

One. Two. One. Two.

Skipper smirked and took a match out of the match box and handed it to Kowalski, who then handed it to Rico. The macho penguin then swiped the red part under Private's buttocks, which in turn made the small Penguin jump and exclaim: "Ooh!". Skipper then turned to a sleepy Marty who yawned.

"Get some tic tacs, Stripes" Skipper commented before smirking then saulting. "Fire in the hole!" and Rico put the flaming match onto the rope. Catalina nodded her head. Okay, this was it. Cannon time... that reminded her, was she a bit too high? Right when she realized she would not hit the target, she exclaimed loudly:

"FISH HOOKS! WAIT!" she exclaimed before she was launched. Stefano's face fell as he heard his Catalina's wails of terror as she flew over them. Alex and Gia were practicing the Trapeze when jumping Alex saw Catalina flying over them.

"What the-?" he exclaimed, failing to reach for the next swing and realized too late he was falling. He screamed until he found himself flying upwards again. He looked up to see Gia giggling and throwing him into the next swing. Alex sheepishly laughed and called over to her.

"Thanks Gia!"

"No problemo, Alex!" she called back, swinging again. Stefano and marty, however, were not so lucky. The penguins followed, staying on Marty's back as they ran over to where they had seen Catalina go. Stefano was worried to bits. He killed her! How could he!? She could have had a wonderful life! How COULD HE!? He just killed his beloved! Oh he will apologize and kiss every inch of her face and pray to Mama Mia to bring her back.

"_Santa Maria, Santa Maria_..." he prayed, putting two flippers together and looking up to the sky. Marty yawned once again. As worried as he was about Catalina's well being, since she was kinda like Stef's girl and all, but he was really sleepy. Skipper had smacked the Zebra's neck and hollard.

"ONWARD Stripes! Don't go loopy on us now!" Marty groaned before picking up his pace and soon caught up to Stefano who wailed with happiness. Catalina was fine, a bit shaken up but fine nonetheless. Her savior had broken her fall, and did not seem to mind saving a life. Stefano had been too caught up in making sure Lina was okay, he didn't see Marty's and the penguin's jaws go wide oepn at who saved her: Safēda.

"Oh-a! Thank-a _Santa Maria_ you are-a okay-a!" Stefano exclaimed, picking up Catalina from Saffy's arms and carrying her princess style. The Sea Lioness blush as did the Italiano, but he quickly recovered and cleared his throat. "Oh-a! Thank-a you for-a saving-a Catalina!" he exclaimed, bowing down to the white tigress who got up and cleaned the dirt on her fur. Safēda smiled sheepishly.

"Well, I heard someone scream, held my hands out and there she landed" she explained to the Italian Sea Lion who started to waddle back to the Circus.

"Well thank-a you again-a!" he called. Safēda nodded and then looked at the Penguins and Marty. The black with white stripes Zebra was the first to break the silence.

"Hey! You're the chic who got Vitaly!" he exclaimed. Safēda sighed and nodded.

"Yes. I have been thinking... alot... and I think an apology is in order" she spoke softly. Skipper scoffed before sliding down marty's bitten behind and skeptically eyed her.

"So.. you want to apologize, right toots?" he asked. The tigress nodded. "Well, how come you didn't bring your friends to come and do the same?" her expression hardened.

"What they want to belive and whether they want to apologize or not is entirely up to them. Besides, I can't control how they feel and once they have a clear mind, i'm sure they would think it over and see that it's not right" Skipper eyed her and looked at Kowalski and Rico. "Boys! Frisk her for any weapons or toxic substances" Marty's eyed widened as did Saffy's.

"Uhhh, guys, I don't think you need to frisk her for weapons" he spoke, yawning again. Safēda's eyes widened when she saw the approaching penguins. Marty sighed. "Guys, seriously, we'll just get her back to the Circus and then we'll see what she has to say. Besides-" Marty looked at the tigress. "I think she really needs to apologize quick to a certain someone before he goes craz-o again" he said, doing a circular motion to the side of his head with his hoof. Skipper sighed and clapped his flippers.

"Fall back boys. Stripes has told us not to, but if you need friskin' give us a peep" he exclaimed before he slid off with the others in tow. Safēda sighed.

"Thanks. I'm not used to the idea of Penguins checking me for anything weapon-like" Marty nodded.

"Yeah, they tend to get over-military like. have no idea why, though" he smiled and started to walk off, yawning. Safēda turned her head to the side.

"Wait... you're just gonna let me go in? Without asking me why or bearing me down for questions?" Marty laughed and looked back at her.

"Well, where we come from, that's natural. I understand, but it's th eothers you need to talk to. You hurt them, a lot of them, if you want to prove yourself in order for us to say sorry, then we will" the tigress beamed a bit.

"Good. because I am willing to listen to you guys and believe you if you really didn't steal my mother". Marty grinned again and turned back, trotting away. Safēda smiled to herself. Well... this was a good start... right? She will deal with her Vitaly and Alexei problem later, right now, she had to set things right... for Safi.

**0O0**

**So... you like it? I am not so sure, I really like this Chapter mostly because of the flashback, and I hope you guys do as well. You finally learn why Vitaly and Saffy feel like they're close in a way. And because a friend of mine told me that some of you were worrying for Safi both PMing her and reviews, she is fine, as you can see, and she is not being prisoner without a fight. GO SAFI! :D**

**And so we get an insight of Rita's head. Yes, I know, she should have told Vitaly about Irina and Adui, but he had to learn on his own. Saffy doesn't know the whole story about Vitaly but Vitaly doesn't know much about her in turn. Unsatisfied? XD **

**Well, we get to meet the whole lot next Chapter and see their response to Saffy appearing again, but apologizing and deciding to give them a chance. Why so soon? Well, if Rita had told you something you never knew about a grandpappy you hate, won't you start thinking once you're alone? I would. I do it all the time XD**

**And added a bit of AlexXGia there, since I thought it halarious if Catalina flew over them and Alex was like "The heck!?" XD review and, if you guys can, tell more friends about this fic! XD YES! Me wants lots of readers and lots of followers because this story will be LONG! XD Also, if you guys have any ideas- once again, PM me, or if you are a non-user on , email me at Kidachei(Put the "at" sign)(aol).com (Just remove the parenthesis and the dots, K? :3) I am usually checking it every day for any signs of any email I have from here XD So don't be too shy, and don't get upset if I don't use you're ideas.**

**But I love you guys so much and without your awesome reviews and comments on both DA and here, this story would not have gotten so far! So keep at it guys, keep reviewing, sending me ideas and tips! You're awesome like that! MUAH! :3**


	27. No Need To Explain

**Chapter XXVII - No Need To Explain**

He ran as fast as his little flippers could carry him. It wasn't that Catalina was in any way heavy, he just lacked the masculine complexion some of the others had. With Catalina on his arms, he only felt more need to get to his destination as fast as he could get there. The female Sea Lion was still shaken up from being fired in the air and almost plummeting to her death... but what a rush!

She was flying in the air! She felt like a bird, well, until she knew she was falling down and not flying up, but it was a wonderful sensation! Goosebumps covered her skin, her pearly necklace bobbed up and down with Stefano's movements and her head ferociously thought about the whole situation. He had looked so worried about her, and he had immediately went to see how _she _was. Right now, he had carried her off, princess style in his arms and was running back to the only place he could knew where he could make her feel better. He only slowed when he finally entered the Circus grounds and looked around for any buckets of water. How cute, he cared for her so much, it made her blush to think that- no, he was being nice! He couldn't possible like her in any way... right?

He had set her down on nice soft hay and immediately brought a bucket of water for her and dipped a nice towel in it. Once he squeezed most of the clear substance, he put it on her head. Stefano did not notice the flush of red across the petite female's face. She touched the wet fabric and shook. So cold.

"Are-a you alright-a?" Stefano asked worriedly. Catalina tried to assure him as sweetly as she could but those words never came out and she answered in a laugh, surprising them both.

"Alright? I'm fine! That was awesome! What a rush! Can I try again?" she asked. Catalina shocked herself with those words, but it seems as if her more collected and calm demeanor had disappeared. Stefano fidgeted uncomfortably. He didn't want to have to feel that rush again. That she might have gone because he stupidly said yes to somehting that could have killed her. Then again, she loved it, and he felt like he wanted to run around in happiness. Why should he be happy?

He coughed nervously. How should he answer her? He can never say no, not to her, not directly. Catalina, seeing his distress, sighed. "It's alright Stefano. I won't try for a while if you'd like that. Besides, it'll take me a few days to get over my shock! Ha!" she laughed innocently. Stefano felt a huge weight lift off from his shoulders and he plopped hext to her in relief. The Sea Lioness could not help but giggle loudly. Stefano stared at her curiously. What was so funny?

"Stefano, you're one of the most caring Sea Lions I've ever met! I mean it! I've never seen anyone cry like you did for your friends!" Stefano smiled embarrasingly. True, he cried an awful lot when he was upset. Catalina held his flipper, causing the two to blush scarlet across their cheeks. Catalina smiled. "Stefano... why do you care about me so much? I know you care about the others because they're your family, but you treat me so... like I'm special... you know what I mean? The treatment you give me is kind of different..."

Stefano sighed. Finally, she asked the right question. He turned to her and pulled something out of his pierrot and took out the same flower he had given her on their second meeting. A Cattleya flower. "Well-a... I like-a you Lina. Whenever I-a look-a this flower, I-a think of-a you-a... the beauty-a and the-a name remind me so much of-a you-a" he put the flower behind her small ear, making the Sea Lioness blush.

"Oh... Stefano... That is so sweet" Catalina could feel the heat in her cheeks, even without putting her hand on them. Stefano blushed as well and kicked the dirt.

"And when you-a blew out-a the cannon-a... I thought-a how dumb I-a was to let you-a go in-a... How you-a could have-a gotten-a hurt... because of-a me-a. A pretty-a flower like-a Catalina should not-a be-a scarred or hurt in-a any way". After that, Catalina knew that no matter what, she could not stop the blushing that threatened to show up in her skin. She gulped nervously. He liked her. HE LIKED HER! Was she dreaming? He cared about her like no other. Hadn't he just carried her half a mile to get her to safety and he compared her to such a pretty flower than partly held her name?

She gulped.

"Stefano... I-" she looked a him in the eyes. Brown to Blue. "I like you too, Stefano" she revealed. Her eyes growing luminous. Stefano gaped at her and shook his head in shock. Did she just say what he had been dreaming of her saying to him?

"You.. you-a do?" he asked. Catalina nodded her head.

"Yep. Stefano, you're like no other guy I've met. You're worried about me, and you show it without making me feel insecure or trapped. You make me laugh whenever you do somehting silly or tell a joke. I have fun with you, and you smile everytime you make me smile. You are the most macho guy and gal like me can have!" she hugged him. "I REALLY like you, Stefano. I really do"

Stefano shook. On the outside, he was speechless, but it was like fireworks and dynamite in his stomach. he felt like he was about to- and then his limbs went still. Catalina furrowed her brow and looked at Stefano's silent form. "Stefano?"

The Sea Lion she had adored so much had fainted.

0O0

Gloria really didn't like being is such a tight spot. It made her feel bigger than she really was. She hated tight spaces. And this was the worst she would ever find herself in, tops, even when being followed by the crazy lady. Alex, Melman, Gia as well as herself, have been trying to figure out why they were the ones being framed.

Why them? Gloria figured it was because they were new, which made a lot of sense, and the others agreed, but there was somehting missing from that statement. It couldn't have been only because they were new right? That would mean they were not only the ones subject to ridicule the most, but it also gave everyone doubts.

There had to be something else. Right? Skipper and his merry band of Penguins had been in on the conversation too, but hardly said anything to help. Once or twice, Gloria had been tempted to ask about their opinions, but Skipper seemed only interested in how exactly the masterminds had planned it.

"Right when we least expected it... what a commitment!" he would comment every now and then, catching the others attention for a while before going back to figure out a plan as to how to solve this problem. But the only obstacle was not knowing. How in the world were they going to prove the others wrong and convince everyone that they had not stolen Safi? Gloria, tired of everyone putting in ideas that didn't or couldn't work, said outloud: "Why don't we just get the Penguins to do some undercover work? Like, you know, examine some of the animals or people, and try to come up with the most likely Circus who'd want to get Safi or _Fantaisie_?"

The others looked at her and as their minds started to finally click on one single idea, shared huge grins and high fives. The Penguins, however, said nothing. Gloria came foward and stood in front of Skipper. "Please. It's your Circus too. Besides, it's a REAl mission this time. No handling money, and if we don't solve this thing, then we'll get bad publicity soon and you won't have any money to back yourselves up"

Skipper looked at Kowalski who immediately did calculations on his caluclator. The tall penguin's eyes widened and he showed Skipper the end result. Rico Uh oh'd while Private gasped to himself. "Bollocks". Theleader of them all had finally turned his head and eyed each one of the huge animals in the eye.

"Fine. We'll do it. Besides, it's good to finally do some real work around here" and then the penguins slid off in hot pursuit after Skipper who was the first to leave. Alex and the others didn't know how, but the Penguins were highly capable of handling themselves and coming up with answers. Alex smirked and put an arm around Gia who merely smiled.

He turned his head once he heard the familiar sound of approaching hooves and turned to see Marty, looking highly tired, and waved at his best friend. "Yo!" he greeted from afar. Marty smiled and waved back, but not before yawning. Alex chuckled a bit. What was that Zebra doing again? Oh yeah, he said he was talking to som- his eyes widened when he saw someone following. Well, actually, when he saw _who _was following him. The lion was about to point out the obvious before Marty held his hoof up.

"Hey, we're cool. Seriously. Just let her explain. And while she's doing that, I'mma take a nap. Later" he exlcaimed and happily trotted over to his car. Alex gaped at Marty. How can he just DO that!? Safēda said nothing while Marty left, but once she had everyone's, including Alex's, attention, she started to speak.

"I know I may not know you much, and neither you I but that doesn't mean we can jus make fast decisions... I know I did, and it was very stupid of me to do it. I apologize for what is aid and what I did" she bit her lip in shame. Suddenly, Iggy appeared under Alex's leg and stared wide-eyed at her. He was caught.

"Why are you here Saffy? I thought you didn't like them" the tigress was caught off guard from the sound of her sibling's voice and admitted that she wasn't so surprised. Iggy would have come to visit them either way, no matter what someone told him.

"I know. I didn't like them.. then someone back home knocked some sense into me and showd me how idiotic I was. I hope we can fix this. I came back because I know what I did was wrong and I wanted to apologize for it. I should have given you a chance to explain. I am trying to give it to you now, and I hope that you will give me the same chance"

0O0

How the heck did someone get in his car? Okay, sure, this car was old but that didn't mean someone can just cut a hole big enough for themselves while his door was locked. Whoever did this must be very good at their work...and that though alone worried him. Vitaly pushed his knife stand back onto the wall and looked for any signs of damage on the floor, or on the walls. Nothing. How can that be possible? He looked up where a small door leading to the roof of the cars and he lightly punched it with his extra long arm.

It did not budge. He punched it harder. Okay some minor creaking but that didn't mean that it wasn't breakable. Maybe there were some clues on the walls. He moved his shelf, only for some of the drawers to come out slightly and pictures falling on the floor. He groaned to himself before bending down to pick up the mess he had made. Old pictures. He needed no reminder. He opened his top shelf to put them in and a whiff of her scent came into his nose.

His mouth opened in shock as she sniffed around his drawer. She had been through his stuff. How annoying. Snooping around and touching his belongings when she was suppose to only sniff them, and only touch when she found something. Her scent was even on his knive stand, and on his hammock. He lightly touched his bandaged cheek and scoffed. It didn't really hurt, much less leave a mark... but somehow, he felt as that scratch was something he should be upset about. And amazingly he was. Sighing in annoyance, he began to put the pictures in until his paws took out one that instantly made his mind crumble.

Irina.

She was greeting the camera along with him. A happier him. A more complete version of the old Vitaly. He growled and crumbled it into a small ball and threw it to the trash. He needed no reminders or needless distractions to cloud his mind. Irina was somehting he knew he had to forget. Once he did, he knew that his mind would be forever clear and finally burden free. As he proceeded to clean up the rest of the mess, he heard some of his comrades speaking in low, murmuring voices outside. He didn't understand any of it, but, apparently the murmring meant something else bad was happening.

He hoped it wasn't. He opened his door, sticking his head out and turning to the side, his jaw nearly dropped at the sight of the tigress. He didn't know if he should be angry or just puzzled. He chose angry. He stepped off of his car and started to stomp off towards her direction. How dare she come here? After what she had done to his cheek, how dare she appear and start to ramble on about apologizing and- what? He blinked.

"I just wanted to let you all know that once again, I am deeply sorry. I don't want to fight, or even start one. I'll belive you if you believe me. I just want my mother back" a tear trailed down her face and Vitaly found that the cub was the only one closest to her, literally. Everyone else was a few feet away but the cub was hugging her and sobbing into her fur. Safēda cleared her throat and rubbed the boy's tuft before speaking again.

"I just want to make things right" he found himself leaning to the side, hiding himself in the shadows so that the others, or even her, wouldn't see him. He wanted no one to see him and he wanted to see no one. Not right now. The tigress wiped the tear quickly and put on a determined look on her face. "I'm sorry. Really. Truly. I promise to give you guys a chance to prove yourself right, and I will help you on that because I can see that none of you have the wickedness to kidnap Safi, and I have no right to claim you have done with only one piece of evidence and not letting you explain"

The male breathed slowly. She sounded so... unlike Kat. He blinked when he had realized that he had used her petname that he had given her and wondered why he even did so. He rubbed his cheek once more and anger came back in his mind. So what if she apologizes? She will have to come to HIM for him to truly accept it. It looks like she didn't even have the guts to even do that alone. He huffed and came out of the shadows and made sure that he was barely seen walking behind the others before going to his regular practicing site.

Little did he know that someone had seen him.

Gia looked at Alex, and then at Vitaly. She wanted to stay and hear the rest of what the tigress had to say, but she couldn't help but wonder why Vitaly even left. She quickly whispered in Alex's ear before sneaking away herself, more stealthily than Vitaly had and ran after him. She didn't really need much energy to catch up to the tiger, but man does he walk fast!

"Vitaly!" she called. The tiger stopped and turned slightly to face the female Jaguar. He smiled and waved at her.

"'Ello Gia. Vat is matter?" he asked. Gia slowed her pace before she was truly at a stop and in front of Vitaly. Now that she had his attention.

"What do you think?" she asked him. Vitaly grimaced before crossing his arms. She knew his reply before he even said it.

"Vat do you mean?" he asked. Gia rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips in an overly teenage kind of manner, even for her age.

"You know what I mean, 'Taly! Do you think we should trust her? Do you think she is tricking us?" the tiger shrugged, which really did not help her at all. She frowned and proceeded to talk again but was stopped when Vitaly exhaled deeply.

"Normally, I vould tell you to beware. No trust her. I no think is good idea, now" he explained, kicking the dirt under him boredly. Gia stared at him, puzzled. She walked closer to him and whispered.

"Why?" she asked. She was ready for any answer. One in particular, but she dared not voice it if it meant that she was wrong and the possible answer from Vitaly was denail. The tiger merely looked back at the crowd of animals before back at her then shrugged.

"I no know vy" he answered. Gia nodded in fake understandment before she too sighed.

"Do we take precaution?" she asked, smiling a bit. The tiger smiled as well and nodded.

"Alvays" before he walked off. Gia stared after him before she ran back, she had to tell Alex. he'd understand! She knew he would, he always did, he knew how to handle the situation, no matter how silly it made him look. When she had come back, she foudn that everyone had decided to let her stay for a bit so they could think about it and found that Iggy decided to give his big sister a tour of the Circus.

The cub jumped giddily, as if nothing had ever happend, which the tigress was admittingly jealous of. She wished she was as naive and innocent as Iggy. But she wasn't. She hadn't been for a long time. But that wasn't going to happen to Iggy. Not ever. The cub extended his arm to one fo the cars and smiled widely. "This is Alex's car!" the tigress grinned a bit before asking him.

"And how do you know that?" Iggy rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Because all the cool kids know! That's why!" he stuck out his otngue at her and started to jump again until he came to the trapeze area. "This is where Alex practices! He does the trapeze! how cool is that!?" he asked her. Safēda nodded her head. Really, it _was_ impressive. _Fantaisie_ had no Trapeze acts, mostly because one of her Circus mates was fatally injured and the humans had banned it. "I've never seen one back home, why?" he asked her suddenly. The tigress smirked and ruffled the cub's fur tuft.

"That story is for another day, Iggy. I think-"

"Alex, I am worried for Vitaly. He seems more... I don't know... angry?"

"What do you expect, Gia? The guy took a swipe from that tigress and seeing her again, it must be either shock or just plain moodiness"

"He would skin you if he heard that" Gia smirked. Alex laughed nervously before adding.

"Yeah, don't tell him I said that... please?"

"Maybe" Gia laughed. "But, I don't know Alex. Vitaly is hardly ever moddy now, thanks to his newfound passion... btu he still has some of his oldness in him. He is not the old old Vitaly, but he is not the other Vitaly you knew when you first met him" Alex laughed again.

"Yeah. _That_ Vitaly scared the heck out of me, at first" Gia laughed as well and nuzzled him.

"Well, I am still worried about him and the others too. I wish this never happened. I wish Safi was safe and we can still be friends. I don't know what to think now"

"Well I think we should give everyone a second chance. Like you guys did for us" Alex said, smiling widely. Gia nodded.

"Yes. Perhaps that is best" Alex held her paw in his own.

"Don't worry, Gia. Everything will be fine. I won't let anything happen to y- the others. Or our circus" Gia held an eyebrow up.

"Me?"

"Well of course you too, you're my girlfriend!" Gia smirked. She knew him enough by now that he was hiding something, and whatever it was, it made him blush and think about her. She knew. Oh yes, she knew.

"No, I meant that you were about to say that you will never let anything happen to _'me'_" The lion blushed at Gia's expression showed a triumphant one. She giggled and threw herself on him, hugging his arm as tightly as she could. Alex grinned a bit before turning her around to face him. "I promised you, the night we defeated DuBois, that I would never betray or hurt any of you, especially you, ever again. I'll protect you and care for you no matter what!" Gia smiled and nuzzled his chest. The lion kept his glowing smile and only began to lean in when Gia had looked into his eyes.

So pretty.

Then a flash or golden brown had suddenly appeared and knocked the glossy-maned lion over to his side, and his head took quite a blow when landing, and soon he was knocked out cold. "ALEX WATCH OUT!" Iggy had yelled, standing on his idol and poiting to Gia accusingly. "SHE HAS THE COOTIES!" Gia raised an eyebrow and giggled at the cub but not before Safēda had come out of their hiding spot, her face red and scarlet.

"Sorry. We, uh, heard everything and we are very sorry we eavesdropped on you. We just started listening and-" the tigress trailed off, confused by Gia's growing grin.

"Oh it's alright. We pretty much used to it" she piped. The tigress raised an eyebrow before looking back at Iggy, who was now dragging Alex away by his tail.

"Well, I don't feel comfortable but I just want to let you two know that I seriously do not mean any harm" Gia then raised an eyebrow and walked closer to her.

"Why change your mind so fast?" the tigress sighed and scratched her temple.

"Rita. She knocked some sense into me and... it's what Safi would want me to do. I was so angry at losing her and I was so emotional I was willing to blame anyone who fits closest"

"And Vitaly happened to be just that person" the tigress shook uncomfortable and Gia noticed that this was a topic the tigress felt weird in crossing in, but she was Gia, and she couldn't stop herself by being a little curious. "You got him good. I never seen anyone get that close. Well, except for... nevermind. I am not suppose to talk about it" Gia had found that she had caught the tigress' interest. Bingo.

"I know I have no right to bug any of you about it but... who swiped him?" Gia shrugged.

"He was Vitaly's rival. He was a lion, played the saxophone. That was his act. Adui was the closest to ever get a swipe at Vitaly, and he almost won but then it was a tie" she lied. She could tell that the tigress did not believe that last bit but she merely shrugged and bit her lip.

"Was the cut bad?"

"I don't think so. He had a bandage but it didn't seem like it hurt him... I think". The tigress sighed and turned to face Gia.

"I am very sorry you all had to see my outburst. It runs in my veins" Gia nodded understandingly but a part of her could only squeal in joy. Something, somehting instinctal, told her that this tigress was somehow having a little crush on her friend and father-figure without her knowing it. Juts like she first did with Alex, though her realization came sooner than this one. Perhaps this may be the reason Vitaly did not know how he feel? She oculdn't help but grin at that.

Love may be the only cure to get the old Vitaly back for sure, and she'd make sure it happen!

**0O0**

**Like some of the other Chapters, I don't like this until later on XD Enjoy this CatalinaXStefano scene because this one will be the last one for a while. The next few Chapters until 30 primarily focus on Saffy and Vitaly's growing relationship. I know, it's unfair to some of you, considering how you like the other couples but I find myself constantly giving other couples attention without giving the one that I was regularly going to start with (Other than Alex and Gia and some Julien and Sonya). Ironic, huh?**

**And the next theme/show will be on 30. To let you guys know XD A friend reminded me of that and the next few Chapters totally work with it! And YES I have planned the rest of the story UNTIl 30, and thanks to a friend of mine on DA for giving me couple ideas for these two, as well as Iggy, she just adores him! X3**

**So I hope you guys enjoy this one! I need to start working on a comission as well as fanart so it will be a while until you see the next one, just saying! So cheers! REMEMBER - CONTACT me if you ahve an idea. A review is no place to put ideas becuase if I like your ideas, then everyone will know and it won't be a surprise. I like giving surprises ;)**

**And if you do not know my email just go on my DA page and look around a bit. I'm sure I have it on there and if I don't, I'll just put it up on my BIO if I can XD**

**So once again- ENJOY! MUAH!**


	28. A Hint at Night

**Chapter XXVIII - Because the Night**

Iggy had always been fascinated, or rather intrigued, of the golden lion who called himself "Alex". Sure, he had seen many male lions around in his circus as well as others, but non were as skinny, as clean or as short as Alex was. The lion's pelt was truly goldish in appearance, his mane was always glossy brown, and his eyes were the brightest blue he had ever seen, like a lake. True, Iggy was indeed intrigued by this lion. He had his uncle, sure, but the old male hated cubs in general and never took the time to even give him some tips for any act. He barely remembered his father.

Iggy, after Alex had come around and groaned while holding his head from the rock his head had landed on, asked Alex what he did before his time in the Circus, the cub knowing that he and his friends never were fully circus thanks to some of the animals retelling the story of the four zoo animals with them, each a different way or so, but the ending was always the same. Iggy couldn't help but look at his current role model bigger than he thought he was. The lion had then grinned and showed him his old act back in the Zoo. As he did, he explained to the young cub of how he used to be the most popular animal in the whole city.

No one lived in Manhattan without knowing his name, and the cub was deeply impressed.

The cub had never been so fascinated by one story like the one Alex told. The lion went to explain how they had escaped to save Marty in New York, how they ended on Madagascar and defeated the Fossa, then to Africa and how he helped restore the waterhole until he finished his tale ending with the Circus, as well as his dance, and roared once more. Iggy couldn't help but feel a swell of pride that the lion HE met was such an awesome guy. But he had to admit, there was only one thing that bothered him.

"Isn't dancing only for the girls?" he asked, rather confused. All the female felines in his Circus either jumped the rings or danced. Alex turned to look at him in shock, then blushed and pouted.

"Dancing isn't _only_ for girls. It can be for guys too!" he claimed, seemingly pleased with his answer, but the cub wasn't finished. Iggy got up from his little spot in the green, green grass and nodded his head.

"Is too! The only animals who dance in all the other Circuses are the girls!" Alex pouted once more before giving the cub a meaningful look then crossing his arms haughtily as if he was about to prove something.

"So you think dancing is a girly girl thing, eh?" he asked. The cub nodded fiercly.

"Yeah!"

"Then that means you've never seen _this_ kind of dancing before" Alex cleared his throat, tapped his foot into a nice beat before jumping onto the barrel once more and started to dance. But this form of dance was unusual to the cub's eyes, he had never seen anything like it. Using his natural agility, Alex did a few backflips, front flips, spinned himself on the ground using his hand to help balance himself. Alex smirked when he caught the cub's look of pure shock. Soon the lion had stopped spinning and jumped a few times in the air before roaring once more and landing in front of the cub. Iggy stared at him for a few seconds before jumping up and crashing into him."That is called _'breakdancing'_ and it's for boys AND girls"

"I WANNA DO THAT!" Iggy exclaimed, smiling widely, pointing at him. Alex grinned and patted his head.

"Right. So is dancing really for girls?"

"NOT ANY-MORE!" the cub exclaimed. He felt so happy right now, he could explode into a gajillion pieces of choice cuts! Gia and Safēda watched not too far away and bursted out laughing. They had seen Alex's dance, and they were not only impressed but they just had to laugh when the cub had started to scream. The tigress swore that Iggy looked up to Alex as a role model, which wasn't really something bad she thought.

"He's good with cubs. I'm actually surprised, I was sure he'd find him annoying. Most grownups do" she commented. Gia nodded.

"I never knew either. Iggy is so cute, I don't think of him as annoying, I think he is just curious like a cub should be" the tigress nodded in silent agreement with Gia's words.

"Curious" she repeated before looking back at Gia who she could tell held an admiration for Alex in her eyes. The tigress smirked and chuckled a bit. Gia looked back at her and stared curiously.

"What?"

"Nothing. I just thought about what would happen if Alex were his real role model and he acted JUST like him... I'm betting he'd get a few females after him once he has his mane" Gia laughed and nodded.

"When I first met Alex, it was under serious circumstances but I couldn't help but think he was very cute. Weird but cute" Safēda smiled and nodded.

"Aren't all guys weird to us before we like them?" Gia shrugged after a while of thinking it over. Maybe they were, after all, she knew sometimes the girls were completely oblivious to the males whenever they were interested in them, but she never really had gotten interested in a male besides Alex, Vitaly usually scared them away and kept her from them. Which reminded her... She snook one peek at the white tigress who stared after Alex and Iggy, how the cub kept falling on his head and tripping.

"I would not know" she spoke suddenly, and carefully. "Alex is the only male I ever associated with" the tigress' ears perked and she turned her head to stare at her curiously. Gia giggled in somewhat innocence before mashing her hands together to form one fist. "I am just glad Alex is the right one" the tigress did not move.

"So Alex is the only male you've met to show you some affection?" she asked, quite surprised. Gia could see that she had gotten the white feline hooked, and she couldn't bear to lose her now.

"Yes, but it's not entirely my fault" Safēda raised one eyebrow in disbelief. Gia pouted. "Seriously! I tried, but Vitaly never let me near any males. He thinks they will hurt me" the tigress sniffed and turned her head.

"I have to admit, I never really got into males either. Though some really seem to like my pelt" her ears flattened tight against her skull, her teeth bared. "Idiots" she spoke before her muzzle and expression calmed and soon she was smiling again. Sorta. Gia nodded her head in understandment. In reality, she did not know why a male of her species, or of another species to only like her for her pelt. Something told her she did but she wasn't so sure.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No no, it's my fault. I kinda went offboard there" she chuckled slightly. Gia's ears perked. Maybe there was still hope somewhat.

"Well, if you had to choose a mate, what would you like for him to be? Have?" the Jaguar asked, feigning a look of pure innocence, looking as if her questions were not meant for purposes even though they were. Safēda went deep in thought. What _did _she like in a guy? Well, obviously, she would like for them to respect her. Yeah, respect is always good. Caring is a must. Funny, yeah, she could use a laugh every now and then... what else?

"Um" the tigress murmured, scratching the back of her ears. "I guess he'd have to be nice, respectful, caring, funny... and maybe understanding... and... uh... I'm not sure what else" Okay so not much going for her but at least it was something, for her. For Gia, however, it was just plain information she knew all the females wanted. Nay guy in this Circus could at least do more than half of those things, so it could be anyone.

"Isn't there anything else? Sounds bland" Gia asked. Safēda raised an eyebrow once again before sighing.

"Um okay then... my mate should... at least be a bit attractive" Gia nodded. Of course. Safēda pondered once more before adding, "He should, be fit, healthy, and very energetic". Okay that is better. More descriptive, that's good. "Maybe he should be good with cubs too, you know, just in case" Gia couldn't see it because of the tigress' fur, but she could plainly tell that she was blushing. After a tiny laugh, Gia nodded, signaling the tigress' to continue her list. "He shooooooould... uhhh"

Gia swayed patiently, the more descriptive, the better. Maybe it would be her chance to finally get her guardian to leave the past alone, and hopefully more would blossom from her careful planning. Finally Safēda laughed and threw her arms in the air. "I give up. I don't even know what I would like in a guy. I guess I'd know if I actually met him" she spoke, laughing a bit. Gia frowned for a split second before joining her, as if she had never frowned at all.

"Well, I never knew either, until I got to know Alex... better" she added quickly. This part was the most delicate, get her to think and it will happen. Hopefully. The tigress nodded before looking up at the sky. A light purply blue color thanks to the sunset's rays. She gasped before she yelled to the young cub, who was learning to balance himself as he spun.

"Iggy! It's late! We gotta go!" the cub pouted before he latched himself onto Alex's leg.

"But we were about to get to the flips! Please let me sleep over! Pretty please, Saffy? With a steak on top?"

"Steak?" Alex piped up, smiling. Safēda hesitated to answer. If she had let Iggy sleep over, then that would mean that she would have to lie to her family about his whereabouts, but if she didn't, she would not stop hearing about it. Then again... she looked at Gia who smiled, she was okay with the cub sleeping over.

"He can stay with me and Alex, we make sure nothing happens to him" she assured. Safēda smiled. This may be a good chance to build some trust, if she trusted them with Iggy, they would trust her, which meant they were closer to proving ot her that they never stole Safi. Sighing, the tigress walked over to the cub and leaned over to the cub.

"Be good. I'll let you sleep over, but if it gets too close to discovering this back home, you won't be doing it again" Iggy glomped the tigress and rubbed his little head all over her neck.

"Thank you! Thank you! _Thank you_!" he giggled. She smiled before looking at Alex.

"You're the leader of this Circus, na?" she asked. Alex shurgged a bit before nodding. He was, sorta, if Stefano, Vitaly or Gia didn't overrule him. The tigress nodded her head. "Make sure he's safe. He's all I got left. I don't see his uncle as a good family member you know" she said, eying the lion. Alex chuckled before picking Iggy up and over his head. Gia laid a paw on her shoulder and smiled.

"Do not worry. Iggy is in good hands! He will have fun here!" the tigress nodded before sighing.

"What should I tell them? When they find out Iggy isn't with me?"

"Catalina is our friend too" Gia smiled. "She can help cover for you. Don't worry, we'll tell her, I'm sure she would love to help you, and us" he tigress smiled at Gia before giving the feline a hug, Iggy a small nip on his cheek, and shaking Alex's paws.

"See ya" she waved as she walked along the path back to fantaisie.

0O0

Vitaly sighed in eternal bliss. He loved the night, honestly, all those stars. He didn't feel like practicing his hoop anymore, which was a real shocker to him and once the sunset had appeared, well, he couldn't help but lay down and observe it. He watched it go down quickly, disappearing into the faraway hills, and he grimaced. These sunsets were always so short in America... or maybe a lot of time had passed and he didn't really know it. No matter, he could still enjoy it somewhat.

He sighed once more and closed his eyes. He felt so nice to be in the grass, the cool air against his fur, and nothing but the sweet scent of blossoming flowers in the distant and of perfume... wait... perfume? He opened his eyes only to feel something bump into his head and soon a flash of white and brown and he was rolling down the hill along with whoever had tripped over him.

After a few minutes of nonstop rolling and hitting bodies on harsh rocks and itchy grass, the rolling had stopped and he groaned. "What idiot just _lays_ on the grass!?" he heard a feminine screech. Vitaly's eyes widened in shock as he turned to see Safēda's legs on his back and her tail hanging limpy on his side. The tigress stood up and rubbed her head. Once the banging and headaches had stopped she took a good look at whoever she had tripped over and fell on.

Vitaly had been to stunned by her sight to evern move from their current position. Her eyes widen in similar shock before she sniffed. "Oh. _You_ again". Vitaly grimaced and shook himself, telling the tigress to _move_ it.

"Vell at least me not the one to trip" he growled. Safēda huffed and, just to annoy him, got up by pushing herself up while her paws her on his back and her legs kicking him slightly. Vitaly could not help but be amused by her behavior. She seemed so sad and hollow while she was talking with his comrades, and she was behaving almost like a spoiled cub with him. What was so wrong with _him_? He grunted before he himself got up. No sooner had he got up that Safēda had started walking off, and tripped on a rock and fell again.

He laughed. "You are very clumsy" he chuckled. The tigress cursed in a language he was not familiar with but only laughed again. She strained ot get up and only did Vitaly feel like being the mother cat in this situation. He walked over to her and grabbed her arms, being as gentle as he could, he helped her up, also checking her body for minor scratches. Safēda gave him a confused look before she relaized he was _observing_ her. His paws ran over her backside to look for any scars or bruises but soon found them slapped aside.

"No need to get touchy, Russkitty" she murmured, her cheeks turning slightly red, though not visible thanks to her fur. Vitaly raised an eyebrow at her curiously, he was just making sure she wasn't hurt, no need to be so rude. He shrugged and started to climb up the hill again to resume his looking of the sky before he felt someone grab his tail. He turned immediately and growled in the young tigress' face.

"Let. Go. Of. Tail" she smirked before letting his furry red and black appendage loose from her grip.

"So sorry, I just wanted to get your attention" she explained, moving her paws to her hips.

"Vell you got it" he smirked suddenly. The red tiger then paused to think of what he said, or rather, how he _voiced_ it. Safēda was surprised herself of the motion but merely shook the incident away from her mind, she had bigger things to worry about now.

"Well, you and I have business with each other left unfinished. I just wanted to tell you that, well.." she took one glance at his bandaged cheek and hesitated to speak, before she looked back at him then sighed sadly. "I'm sorry... for giving you that scar" she pointed at the bandage. Vitaly raised an eyebrow before running his paw over the bruise, feeling the cloth over his skin and fur.

"Ah" he said, apparently not giving a care in the world if she apologized or not. She frowned slightly. How rude.

"Also" she spoke, catching his attention again. As he looked into her eyes, he saw that angry fire in them again and readied himself for any attack she might give him, for whatever reason. He unsheathed his claws slightly, eying her every move. "Do you know anyone, specifically a male tiger, Bengal-Siberian mix, named Alexei?" she questioned. Vitaly's eyes widened, his mouth hung open, and he retracted his claws almost immediately. How did_ she _know Alexei!?

Somewhat satisfied with his reaction, she smirked. "Good to know" she chuckled before turning to leave, in case he had regained some sense and started to fire questions. Such things will hve to wait tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Vitaly's mind was a blur. How can this tigress possibly know Alexei? How did she even know that he knew him? Was she some sort of old friend? A contact? A family member? Maybe Rita? Each theory was likely in it's own way since he had remembered that Alexei did have plenty of friends, contacts, as well as plenty of cubs in his time before he came to _Zaragoza_. He hadn't really heard much from his old teacher, or even know what had happened to him after he was sold. His mind snapped back to reality when he heard someone call his name.

"EARTH TO-A 'TALY!" someone yelled again. The red tiger turned his head to see Stefano and Catalina waving at him. "Come on-a! Iggy and Catalina are-a staying over-a! Let's-a give them the-a special _Zaragoza_ treatment!" and the two Sea Lions waddled back down the hill. Vitaly gave one more look at the way Safēda had gone, seeing only a white figure too far away for him to run after and catch up, and merely sighed before walking back towards his home Circus.

Answers could wait.

0O0

After much debating, and thinking each and every option over, Iggy had decided to sleep with Alex and Gia. Go figure. As soon as the two felines entered their shared car, the cub was quick to follow and take his place next to the most comfiest spot in his opinion... which was in between Gia's forepaws, by the way. To Alex, it was almost too easy to guess who the cub would have wanted to sleep with. When Iggy had asked, Alex was actually going to plan to share his night with Gia to make up for the lost kiss that day.

He tried to confront Iggy that he wanted to sleep with Gia tonight, but the cub was too young and naive to fully understand his intentions. After much thinking the cub had happily pranced around him, then to Gia, and spoke happily. "Yeah, you can sleep with us!" he giggled. Alex couldn't help but facepalm himself after that and Gia merely laughed.

But soon, he was with Gia, with a sleepy cub in between her front paws and she cooed and snuggled him to make him feel warm. To tell the truth, Alex felt utterly jealous of the cub. He was sleeping nicely, and warmly, on his Gia. HIS Gia. He wished he was that cub now. Gia had caught his annoyed look and giggled slightly.

"Calm down, Alex. He is a cutie, I can't help but cuddle him" she smiled. Alex then felt like a cub for being jealous. Gia smiled at him assuringly. "Do not worry, it is good parctice for me when I have my own cubs" Alex almost fell over to his side after she had said that. Gia laughed loudly as the lion stared at her in complete shock. She kept giggling until she eventually yawned and gave him a light kiss on his cheek and laid her head down.

Alex still stared at her in wonder. As he kept looking at her, and thinking over her statement of practice, Alex started to actually _think_. Gia would be a wonderful mother. Seeing how she was now, how she cuddled the cub so lovingly and lightly running her paw over his little tuft. She sighed softly, only to inhale again. Alex loved the sounds she made at night. She was so peaceful. Gia was caring, lovable, beautiful, funny, giddy and just outright perfection. What guy would _not_ want her? He considered himself lucky, not many guys were as lucky as he was with females.

He scooted closer to her and Iggy and laid his head on her shoulder. A small smile planted itself on her face, as well as his. Iggy merely snorted deeply in his sleep before nothing but heavy sighs and bliss could be heard.

0O0

It didn't take Safēda long to reach her home after her little rendezvous with the male Tiger, but apparently, her little time slip didn't matter to a certain someone. Kidogo stood at the entrance of the tent, scowling at her. This is the third time she missed practice. If she missed anymore, the humans would notice and she wouldn't be the leading act anymore, and it would be passed to Rita. And he knew that lioness would do anything to prove him wrong about him claiming that _Zaragoza_ had kidnapped Safi. He knew.

"Where have you've been?" he spat at her. The tigress flinched at the sudden harshness in his tone. She frowned at him, but instead of lashing her claws out, which she usually did to punish him, she merely rolled her eyes.

"I went to Flora. Visit to Catalina, and Iggy came after me. We spent our day there and she was teaching him an act but when it was time to leave, he wanted to stay. I trust Lina, so he is sleeping over. I'll get him in the morning" A well thought out plan, thanks to thought along the way. Kidogo's expression did not waver.

"You missed practice. Do you know how vital learning your new place as leading act is?"

"I'll do double shifts after I get back" she answered, walking past him. "I need to sleep now. Goodnight, Kidogo" she added. The lion merely sniffed before turning to walk after her. The animals happily greeted Safēda and had the same questions Kidogo had asked her, and she had answered the same way as she had Kidogo. Soon, she had allowed herself some time away from her Circus mates and headed towards her pen.

It was no surprise that she found Rita already there, waiting for her. How dare she not greet her. But she suppose this was better, the others still had a few more minutes of practice and then to clear away to give her enought time to tell Rita of her visit. She told her of how Alex had taught Iggy how to dance and how the cub was staying over at their cars. She found the lioness to be very interested in her tale, but she found her small talk with Vitaly more interesting.

"Keep him on heels, eh?" she cackled. The tigress stared at her in shock.

"What? No, it was getting dark quickly, and I couldn't explain the whole thing to him!" Rita smirked and nodded her head.

"Uh huh"

"Oh I give up with you!" she hissed and covered her face. In reality, the tigress could not stop the red from appearing on her face. Unlike the others, only Safi and Rita knew when she was blushing. And she hated it when she did in front of Rita, she had the knack of pointing it out.

"Vy so nervous? Admit it, you fancy him" she smirked. Safēda growled and pushed Rita away with her paws.

"No I don't fancy him! God, when are you going to let that go?"

"Not until I know for sure you no fancy him" she answered. Safēda groaned again before turning her head so as not to face the lioness. She heard Rita laughing and then, after a few more minutes of silence, she turned her head to see that the lioness had gone to her regular spot in the pen and started to snore blissfully. The tigress stared at her, her cheeks still tinged with red, before organizing the hay under her to create a comfy place to sleep it. After a while, more felines had showed up and soon Kidogo did as well and, as family member to Safi, took his place next to his neice and started to snoring immediately.

Safēda sighed in annoyance and looked to her side, the bars seperating her from the fresh dirt and grass. What a pity. She felt the wind blow and she cherished it. As her eyelids started to close on their own, she started to think of whether of not Vitaly was thinking of her... wait, no of what she said, not of her. Why would she even care? She didn't care. Nope. Not at all. Why was she even thinking like that?

She was an idiot. _'Just go to sleep, Kat... I mean SAFFY! GO TO SLEEP SAFFY!' _she told herself. She groaned and rolled over. Stupid Tiger.

**0O0**

**Huzzah! She lives! XD Well, I've recently been a bit busy and wanted to get away from the story a bit. Actually wrote this the day after I posted the one before this and gave up, then reedited it yesterday and finished today! XD So sorry if you guys have been waiting for this! Remember R&R! X3 A friend of mine is currently giving me ideas and I am enjoying them so very much for these two love-cat's and Iggy XD**

**So enjoy this Chapter! ^^**


	29. In This Life

**Chapter XXIX - In This Life**

A week. In just one week they had practiced nonstop until their whole show was absolute perfection in everyone's eyes. She had memorized her song from beginning to end, every note she had successfully sang in the right pitch, her dancing matched her mentor's as well as the beat. She only had one problem: The show would be tomorrow and she didn't know whether she had the guts to sing in front of an audience. Curse Safi for making it look so easy. But, truth be told, she'd rather face embarrassment in front of millions than not have her back. She hated the suspense of it all.

For a WEEK they had continuously made secret visits to Zaragoza, and true to her word, she had stayed behind so Kidogo would mainly focus on her and to "beat the living daylights" out of the animals of Zaragoza. She had nothing to say about that, as usual. If she said anything, it may have blown both her cover and that of the others. No one knew she and Rita had made visits to Zaragoza along with Iggy, sure, the other cubs took notice of the little lion's absence but whenever they had asked her about it, she merely replied that the cub was practicing his newer act with Rita.

They had left her alone, but that was a temproary excuse. She needed to find better ones. Great. More lies. They couldn't just leave the tent everyday. Everyone would notice, but the good thing about it was that she was the leader now, and she made sure they were to busy to notice anything out of the ordinary. Safēda also kept an eye out for Kidogo, if anyone was to figure out the deception... no, she had to focus, keep positive. She had left Kidogo in charge of the Circus until nightfall, explaining them that she and Rita had to go to Flora to get news of Safi's disappearance.

Luckily, Catalina was in cahoots with Zaragoza as well, so she always had news for her. Sadly, her little fiasco with Bruno had made her realize that she hadn't come back to the tent as she had promised her friends. She made two batches of chocolates and muffins for them to enjoy and to hopefully soothe their pains, which it did to her surprise. Bruno, Catalina had no time for. And whenever the big Sea Lion would question her, she would refuse to answer him. It was a good thing that her cooking was good enough to sway any of her Circus mates. Bruno didn't have anything but muscle to offer; he wasn't the biggest thing in the Circus.

But one thing bothered her other than Safi's disappearance. Her act, despite being told, she felt, needed to be practiced more. Her circus mates, every single one of them had heard her singing, watched her dancing, made sure that every flaw they spotted was perfected, and had told her she was ready to take her career by storm. That unsettled her. Did that mean that Safi would never be found? No, she pushed those thoughts away, she would never think like that. Never. Nonetheless, she found her act to be... lacking.

She didn't know why, but she felt as if she was missing something. Like as if she was missing some sort of glow, a glow that Safi never failed to radiate whenever a show was about to start. Even while practicing, she still luminated anything near her. She didn't know if she had that same spark in her that helped others differ from others. She held her paws close to her heart, her ears drooping sadly. She didn't know what to do now. She wouldn't admit to the others that she was nervous... afriad, actually.

Safi had taught her that a leader should be calm and cool during a tight space in life or during times in leadership. Could she even do it? Her tail twitched nervously, no one but Safi had taught her anything, but that was unture in itself. She had inherited Safi's love of the Circus, Kidogo's knack of distrusting anyone at first glance, Rita's sharp claws and fangs, her mother's fear and worry for her family and her grandfather... she would like to say she had inherited nothing from him... but every time someone in the Circus would talk of him... they would describe him as full of pride, easily angered, and lashed out at anyone... it was like an exact, genderbender of her own demeanor.

That, above all else, haunted her to no end. She didn't want to end up like her grandfather, and she certainly never would dream to hurt her own cubs, if she ever had any. She looked up to see the little Sea Lions, Catalina and Stefano, joking and laughing with each other. The two had love in their eyes, and it wasn't hard to actually know that from a distance. From stories that Iggy and Rita had told her, Catalina had fallen for Stefano, and he, her. She was happy for her friend. Whenever she had first met the small Sea Lioness, the girl would talk of nothing but meeting her Prince Charming one day. She hadn't thought the same until now.

She was six years old. Any month now, depending how the show came out tonight, the humans would either sell her, or buy her a mate, and she would be forced to have cubs of her own, but unlike her grandfather, she would love and care for her cubs, no matter the gender. Not ever would she lay a cold paw on them. Never. And her mate, what would he be like? Would he be handsome and courtious? Or would he be very bad company and horrible? She hoped the first option would be the one. She hoped.

That was all she could do now.

0O0

He flew in the air, his legs catching themselves on the swing and turning his body to expertly throw a small ball in the air, only to have it explode into colores of red, white and blue. The same stunt was done by Gia, and he could hear the gasps of the animals as they stopped to watch down below. He couldn't believe it, was he ever not in the spotlight? He laughed at his own mental joke, causing a smile to come from Gia's golden muzzle. She threw a ball in the air and it exploded not too long after she threw it as well. He clapped for her, seeing her grin grow into a very proud and confident one.

He momentarily looked down to see little Iggy sitting on the grass and every now and then rubbing his neck as he looked up at the felines do their stunt. He had actually gave them the idea and they seemed to think about it. Next thing he knew, they had started to work on it non-stop, having close calls with injury every now and then, but while living in a Circus, accidents happen and one had to take risks. They learned that from a certain someone.

Soon their whole act was finished with Alex and Gia throwing themselves on each other and rockets, who were actually the dogs hung onto Alex's back, ignited, letting Alex fly up with Gia in his arms, a high-pitched laughter echoing through the air, and soon the fireworks sprung into action, but those were little ones. So they imagined the big ones during the show. Iggy simply couldn't wait, not really informed of his sister's predicament, he eagerly wished tomorrow would come quickly. He wanted to see this stunt in their best.

Which reminded him of an earlier question he had asked the lion and jaguar...

Alex and Gia soon came down slowly and then the engine to the rockets had stopped, and Alex landed swiftly on the ground, still carrying the lovely Jaguar in his arms. The dogs had let go and bid them farewell to put more gunpowder and to clean them for tomorrow. Today's stunt was perfect, now all they had to do was clean the shoes and practice their "driving" with the lion and the stunt could be easily, and safely, done. Iggy instantly rested his neck and ran after the two felines as Alex set Gia down, the jaguar giggling silently.

"That was soooo cool! Can you teach me how to do the trapeze?" he asked, jumping around crazily around the two felines. Gia smiled and looked at Alex who sheepishly smiled and blushed.

"Alex is the best teacher in USA! He be glad to teach you!" she joked, knowing of Alex non-existant knowledge of the Trapeze before he met her and how he "taught" her. Iggy's excited demeanor did not falter, and he also did not also catch the little joke between the two grownups. How could he even know?

"So you can!? Can we do it right now!?" Alex held his paws out in a sort of "no no no" way, making the cub's ears droop a bit. The lion luckily answered him quickly.

"Not yet, buddy. Me and Gia are tired, why don't you let us rest and then we'll try, is that alright?" the cub smiled, his ears drooping no longer.

"But... what can I do while you guys rest?" Alex hummed for a bit, hitting his noggin for an idea.

"Uh, why not hang around with Marty at the cannon?"

"But Marty is always tired and sleepy now, he's no fun anymore"

"Well, why not Stefano?"

"He's sharing cooties with Catalina! No way!"

"Uhhhh" was his only answer. Luckily, Gia had intervened.

"Why don't we create some mischeif?" the cub eagerly listened and Gia quickly pulled both lion's ears so they could hear her whisper. Iggy smiled, as did Alex, and the browish-gold cub ran off in the opposite direction that Alex and Gia left to. Oh, this was going to be fuuuuuunny!

0O0

_"So what are you going to do different this time?"_ Vitaly smirked.

_"I'm not going to tell"_ he answered firmly in Russian, crossing his arms, he smirked when a frown appeared on Rita's face. Apparently, his old friend won't take that for an answer.

_"Tell me!"_

_"No"_ he answered again, laughing a bit. The lioness sighed and held her paws up.

_"I give up, I guess you'll show me during the show"_

_"Maybe"_

_"What's that suppose to mean!?"_ he laughed loudly, scaring a few of the animals near them. He apologized to them quickly before catching the perplexed look on Rita's face as she stared at him. His face fell a bit and he soon found out why she was giving hima weird look. or actually, who she was giving it to. When he turned his head, he found that her attention wasn't for him. Iggy was running excitedly over to the cannons, a very visible angle from her perspective and the cub was talking to the four Penguins while pointing at the cannon.

His eyes widened. They wouldn't. He turned only to find Rita not in her earlier place, he turned to see the lioness marching over to the cub and once the little one had her in sight he quickly ran away, making the lioness go after him. Where was Alex and Gia? Shouldn't they be watching the cub? Now his momentary fun-time was over. That was no fun, obviously. Sadly, he had to admit, it was funny. Just to see Rita's face while Iggy flew in the sky at a very dangerous aerial visage point, well, it would be histerical. Well her face, not Iggy flying towards a possible... Kat would kill him. Well, this looked like a good time to practice his hoop jump then... well, his newer hoop jump, was it not?

He started to leave, his ears turned left to right as they usually did and he caught something faint in the air.

_-And prancing in Jingle Bell Square,_

_In the frosty aiiiiiir!_

_What a bright time is the right time,_

_To rock the night a-way!_

_Jingle Bell time, is a swell time_

_To go ridin' in a one-horse sleigh_

He blinked. Where was that coming from? As he heard the bright singing once more, he felt drawn to it. He didn't know why, the singing, it felt right. Soon, he didn't know how, but his legs started to carry him, his ears guiding him towards the singing. He merely hoped that it wasn't that far.

_Giddy Up, Jingle Horse, pick up your feet_

_Jingle a-round the clooooock!_

_Mix and Mingle to Jinglin' beat_

_That's the Jingle Bell, that's the Jingle Bell, that's the Jingle Bell,_

_That's the Jingle Bell rooooooooock!_

He turned a corner and his jaw dropped at the sight. Safēda swung herself around, her legs gracefully twirling about and going one step back, then two steps forward. Her voice never wavered, her eyes never opened, as if she was imagining the crowd in front of her. Her arms moved with every word, gracefully as her feet and she did a small twirl. A smile was evident on her face, and Vitaly couldn't help but marvel at the scenery she was dancing in. It was almost night, but the sunset's orangy glow did not disappear. It was a nice purple color, and some stars were already coming out. He also noticed how green the grass was, and how the wind was nice and soft against his fur. The scene was perfect for her. Just for her.

_The Jingle Bell roooock!_

_That's the Jin-gle Bell roooock!_

_Yeah_

_Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell_

Vitaly smiled softly, and closed his eyes, absorbing the sound. He could feel the magic of her voice touching everything around her, and it was spreading towards him. He could hear her voice nicely spreading out in one note, and then again in another, and he leaned in from behind the boxes he hid behind just to get closer. Therein lay his mistake. As he leaned too far in, the boxes slightly tilted and then, toppled over, causing his original "wall" and hiding spot to be completely destroyed and tumbled down, along with him.

_Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays_

_Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays_

_How's that for a- WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_

Safēda yelled as she heard the ruckus behind her, interrupting her finish, her dance and her concentration. She gripped her tail tightly in obvious fright and blinked when she saw the red tiger slam onto the floor quite hard. Well, served him right! She growled and let her tail go, how dare he just sneak up on her like that!? He could have given her a heart attack! "What. Are. You. _Doing_!?" she yelled at him slightly, just enough so the others couldn't hear her. She had a mouthful to say to him! Vitaly got up as quickly as he could, and as clumsily as he had ever been in any situation.

"I, uh... my hoops are not here" he answered, looking around the area. Safēda's eyes narrowed. She wasn't stupid enough to believe _that_ old trick.

"Right" she huffed. "You didn't just hear me singing, and snuck up on me and ruined my inspiration and scared me to death!" Vitaly blinked but nodded his head.

_"Da"_

"You idiot!" she snarled. As she looked around, she suddenly noticed how the two tigers were the only ones in this part of their Circus. She eyed him suspiciously. Vitaly awaited her rant or her usual tantrums but none of that happened. He had been caught completely by surprised when she spoke quite teasingly. "I didn't know that some of your hobbies were sneaking up on girls" she smiled in a tone of pure cheek. The red on his face wasn't obvious, but Safēda could tell by the way he nervously fidgeted and cleared his throat.

"I vas just valking 'round. I never 'cpected to hear Kat sing" he answered in his defense. Safēda's own cheeks burned lightly at the sound of her nickname. Usually whenever she visited, he would call her by her regular name, he would only call her "Kat" when they were alone... she rolled her eyes at the comment then and smirked.

"So you didn't just decide to snoop around and hear things you're not suppose to, eh?" the tiger shurgged. She saw as his emerald eyes slowly made their way to meet hers. Her cheeks flushed.

"You sing nice. Nicer than any I hear in long time. Me like it" he smiled. The white tigress face seemed pinker than usual. Vitaly had noticed the shade appearing, giving him back his slightly damaged pride back and he soon turned the tables on her. "Yes, I like song you sing. You very pretty when dance and sing. You look happy" her blush deepened and she stuttered.

"I-I'm n-n-not th-that g-good" she spoke. Vitaly smirked did not waver but he saw a hint of fear in her eyes that he did not expect to see there. He immediately dropped the act and walked over to her slight unsettled ease.

"You OK, Kat?" he asked. The tigress nodded quickly.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, 'Taly" he smiled slightly. She hadn't called him that in a while. He missed it.

"You are completely sure?" the tigress stood silent for a moment before sighing.

"No" the tiger nodded his head and took her paw, red tinged his cheeks once again.

"Tell. You can share anything vith me, I keep secrets good" the tigress hesitated to speak. Why should she speak to him? She didn't even know him that well, a part of her told her, screamed, not to do it, but a bigger part, a stronger part, told her to do so.

"I'm... scared" she looked into his eyes, expecting them to make fun of her with their usual green cheer but found only concern and confusion. Green eyes so green as an emerald, so pierce and determined... she liked those eyes. She lost herself in his eyes and he noticed it before she did.

"Continue" he spoke softly, interrupting her thoughts.

"Contin-? Oh! Sorry! Well, I'm just... nervous. That's it. Butterflies in my stomach" Vitaly's brow furrowed in deeper confusion than before.

"Vy? You no bad" Safēda found herself being honest with him, which went against everything told to her about competition, but she didn't stop it. She didn't want to.

"I'm just scared that I'll mess up and ruin my family's' reputation as the _'Circus of Dreams'_. Everyone will hate me and you won't imagine how horrible we'll be if Kidogo's put in charge and then he'll will make sure Iggy stays away from me and Rita and starts to teach him his ways and how he acts before we find S-" a single paw met her muzzle and she looked into his eyes once more. Their old cheer once again in their midsts.

"Dummy" he spoke, making her frown a bit. "You sing lovely. You do great job. Me have no doubt. A voice like yours could never fail" Vitaly blinked. He just spoke as true as he could ever have been. He felt as if he let a part of himself out to her, a part that was honest in all of what he thought. The tigress had nothing to say, nothing to even tell him. She was so caught back by the statement, she expected him to tease her and she would have a reason to be mad but his words caught her by surprise, she didn't know how to react.

"Why?" Vitaly raised his eyebrows in shock.

"'Vy' Vat?"

"Why are you being so... nice?" the male tiger laughed.

"Is that vy you worried now?" he chuckled, causing a confused glance from the white tigress.

"Okay, smart mouth. What are _you_ going to do for your act?" she asked, crossing her arms in annoyance. The tiger merely replied with a wily smirk and turned around.

"I show better than tell" he said and walked off. Safēda did not make a single step to follow him, she was actually hesitating. She wanted to follow him, mostly because she was curious, but her pride as a tiger kept her from doing so. If he had never turned back to tell her to follow him, she didn't know if she would have or not.

0O0

Vitaly smirked as he got ahold of his conditioner. With one big squeeze, about half of it's content on his head, and he threw the bottle to the ground, following with his hands spreading the lubricant all over the top of his fur. He focused solely on the target ahead of him, trying not to pay any attention to the white figure watching him. The sky was dark now, so she was merely a white silhoutte in the night, but her eyes shined brightly in the dark.

Blue orbs staring right at him.

He blinked and reminded himself to pay attention to the ring and he did so, a bit grumpy that he could have stared at her for a longer amount of time. The small hoop was the size of a ring, it would be impossible for him to jump through it. Or would it..? He smirked. Nothing was impossible for him.

With one great big breath, he charged foward. Adrenaline kicking in, he started to do his signature flips and cartwheels on the way towards the ring. The more he jumped and ran, the bigger, slightly bigger, ring grew in size. He finally launched himself forwards, his right arm stretched forwards and his claw unsheathing. He smirked and started to twist himself in midair. Now he was really flying.

In no time, he felt the ground again and the smirk grew wider when he had momentarily caught the perplexed and shocked look on the tigress' face. He stood straight and stretched, purposely flexing his muscles every now and then. He didn't know why, though. Probably instinct. The tigress eyes him for a bit before she broke into a smile and clapped, making him bow.

"So hoop-jumping isn't as stupid and horrible as I thought it was" she spoke in quite a half sarcastic, half genuine tone. Vitaly smiled and bowed once more.

"So you impressed?"

"Yes" he couldn't help but feel a swell of huge pride growing in his chest. He puffed it out, and hadn't caught the slight change in Safēda's visage. She eyed him for a bit, noticing how he was physically fit, even though his gut had a "bump" every now and then. He was very strong, muscles outlined his limbs, his neck was strong-looking, very thick. His hair, while not too small, was spicking upwards in a fashion she had yet to see. She blinked when she noticed that her legs started to shake.

She cleared her throat and approched him, her arms crossed. "You sure do look full of yourself" the tiger smirked.

"I have reason. You can't match it" he replied teasingly, poking her nose playfully. The tigress grinned.

"Oh can't I?" she asked, turning and her tail waving it in front of his nose. Vitaly's smile widened when the furry apendage softly touched his nose and he breathed in her scent. The tigress smirked, sure, just a bit of small flirting. What harm could possibly come from it? She saw him swoon slightly, following her tail a bit and giggled. She turned her head to look forward only to see two pairs of eyes blinking rapidly.

Instantly she charged forward and pinned Rita to the ground. She had seen her. SHE HAD SEEN HER! And flirting with him! NO! She'd never hear the end of it! Darn it! The lioness gasped and turned her head to the side.

"Iggy! Run save yourself!" she called and the cub ran as quickly as he could away from his angry sister, yelling as loud as he could- "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! VITALY HAS THE COOTIES NOW!" Great. Now EVERYONE knew! She quickly forgot about the grown up lioness below her and charged after him.

"COME BACK HERE IGGY!"

"COOOOOOOOOOTIES!"

Vitaly saw the whole thing in front of him an refrianed from laughing in the slight fear of being under her... not that he wouldn't mind, of course. He saw as the tigress was now but a small dot away and running fast. He was, in truth, disappointed that their moment was ruined. He would have liked to share a few more minutes with her, just lightly flirting. But... his ridges furrowed in confusion. Usually females of his species, or any other feline species, waved their tails in front of males only if they... were mates.

He shook his head. No, they were just flirting. Waving tails also meant flirting, right? Yeah, yeah that was good. Only laughter broke his train of thinking, he looked forward to see the lioness rubbing her jaw and exclaiming loudly. "Don't hurt him Saffy! He's got a few years left before you can do that to him!" and she continued laughing. Vitaly walked towards her. He was kind of miffed at her. Darn it, Rita.

"Vy vere you spying on me and Kat?"

"Oh? Nickname base now?" she giggled as she got up. He watched as she completely ignored him and ran after the two younglings. "SAFFY! IGGY!" she called, leaving Vitaly there to wonder about what in the world she had meant by "Nickname base".

0O0

She growled angrily. How dare he still spend time with her? She was better-looking, more talented, heck, she was everything a male lion would want! What made HER so special? Grace growled once more and flipped her tail side to side angrily. Everyone from a mile away could feel the anger and malice in the air around her. She grumbled softly, surprising Solide when he couldn't quite hear what she was saying.

He didn't knwo why in the world why she was such in a bad mood. They've been doing good so far. Safi was a pain to deal with but nothing had been found yet. He had realized that now all of the Circuses were informed, including theirs of Safi's disappearance as well as the suspects. Now all they had to do was seperate what little allies the Zaragozans have and then only will the real fun begin. He had no idea how they will do it but opprotunity always shows itself, they just have to be patient.

He eyed Grace as she snorted once more and mumbled again. Honestly, he was getting tired of her grumpy mood. What in the world made her so... angry? She was just fine when they came, why did her mood suddenly go downhill? He looked down where she was looking but found nothing that could possibly annoy her. There was only that liona nd his mate, a very tired Zebra who had fallen asleep in the cannon and penguins who were trying to figure out how to construct army binoculars.

He shook his head. Hell with trying to understand Grace. She was weird. He then saw a glimpse of Fantaisie's current leader chasing a cub and her follower coming after her. The male tiger soon appeared behind them, watching that none would hurt themselves and he growled. "Look. They're still friends! Kaden's gonna be m-" he turned to Grace only to see that she hadn't been paying attention to him. She was still grumbling. He growled.

"Fine. Be silent. I'm going back home to alert Kaden" he spat and ran off in a huff. Grace momentarily looked back but then huffed herself and grumbled once more.

"Stupid Jaguar. I'll get rid of you. You'll see, tomorrow, everything will change" she spoke in a low whisper. "I'll make Alex mine"

0O0

**You guys hate me fore making you wait so long. My reason? School and homework. I HAVE to do one more, but I felt like I should finish this Chapter and put it up for you guys. I am so very TERRIBLY sorry for not updating. I'm a Junior now, and we have more pressure since colleges start looking for us. I hope my college will find me and want me. I hope I get a lot so I can choose more effectively.**

**Anyways, I have planned the next Chapter and hopefully writing it won't take so long as it did this one. I once again apologize.**

**So enjoy this one and just for giggles, Listent o the song In This Life by Delta Goodrem. Chapter based of this one as well as inspired by the AlexXGia AMV I saw on youtube that had this SAME song! X3**


	30. Firework

**Well I still need to do homework but I guess I made you guys wait long enough XD From now on, I'll try to plan more. I got two more to write after this and hopefully I can quickly finish them to do my homework. I hate shcool already XD I kid, I kinda look forward to it so I can look forward to going home and them going to sleep XD Anyways, the second round will start and I hope you guys like this one better than the last one X3**

Chapter XXX - Firework

She paced back and forth. Nothing but fidgeting and nervousness clouded her mind as she thought about the show. All this preparation has made her begging to be a cub again, to hide from all other faces until she had the guts to face them, but that was near impossible to do now. Especially for one her rank. "Just calm down, Saffy" she kept repeating, in the hopes she would belive in her own words, but that hardly made a difference. Her heart still pounded, her legs wobbled whenever she walked, and every now and then, she would find her fur becoming very poofy and she would have to brush it again. She did not know how Safi did it. Of course, she had experience to help out but in every single show? How did she ever worry about failing? Did she even worry at all?

She kept pacing, her speed increasing as did her heartbeat as she thought of all the possible ways she could mess up or how she can possibly ruin her chance to help the Circus raise it's popularity. That was all the humans had cared about, and if she did not bring them first place, they wouldn't even give her a second chance... and the animals would see that she doesn't have the same spirit that Safi had. Not only that, Kidogo would be the first to claim it, and she knew that the Circus in his hands was not good. She worried for her new friends, if she could even call them that, she hardly talked to any but Gia and Alex only a few times. She was not sure of Vitaly but he was the one she mostly spent any time with.

Could she even blame them if they did give up on her? Would she fail not only her own Circus but them too? She could not bear to think of it.

Iggy appeared behind one of the curtains to her quarters and grinned widely as any excited cub could. Paint decorated his facial features into an extrravanganza of color. His markings were an iridescent yellow color, making his orange pelt seem like gold. The markings themselves were mostly swirls and merely tiger-like stipes and markings on the head. If he could, Iggy could be the first golden lion cub. His grin was the widest she had ever seen after Safi's disappearance and all for a simple reason: It was his first time performing. Iggy had circus blood in him and he would always whine before a show would start. The small cub whould shimper at the fact that he could not enter because he was not onld enough, by human standards, to learn the basic tricks. The humans had seen his little dance moves that he had learned from Alex and decided to put him in as the next generation of a dancing lion. Saffy could not have been more surprised.

"You ok, Sis?" he asked, his luminous orange eyes trying to decipher why his sister's fur was so poofy when it was always straight and brushed. Safēda blushed lightly as she patted her fur down and looked once again in the mirror. She had paint on herself as well. Her stripes, on Rita's assistance and that of the other feline girls, were painted white, to make her look like a pure white tigress. The only marking that was a different color from the paint was her diamond-shaped mark in between her eyebrows. For some odd reason, she thought green would fit, and it did, even though the others instisted blue. Only Rita understood why, but the lioness was smart and understanding enough that Safēda had much more to worry about than her endless teasing.

She looked back at the cub, still behind that curtain and waiting for an answer. "Yeah, I'm fine kiddo" she waved a paw at him but the cub, instead of going away as a happy cub would, came in and happily jumped towards her. "I met Alex again this morning." he smiled, "He says the others say good luck. Him too". The tigress smiled. '_And Vitaly?_' she could have sworn she had said that outloud but the cub did not answer her question, instead he just looked at her with those big eyes. So she had not, apparently. Safēda realized that she had thought that without even thinking of it. She fidgeted ucomfortably and rubbed her arms. Why did she feel so confused whenever she thought about him? That macho tiger was too macho for his own sake, then again, she found it alluring. Dang it, why did she feel so confused? She never felt confused in front of boys.

Her eyes widened as if she had a sudden realization. She thought about their other encounters with each other, by both chance and on purpose: Light flirting, teasing, arguing, akward tension... did she have a _crush _on him? No impossible. She shook her head and sighed irritably, earning a confused glance from the gold cub. "You don't like them?" he asked. The tigress shook her head quickly and leaned over to him.

"No, I'm just... nervous, Iggy. Really, I'm fine... It's just... I feel so alone without mom" the cub blinked and nuzzled her quite sadly.

"Me too... I don't wanna do the show if it's without mama" he sniffed. Safēda mentally kicked herself, she had now ruined Iggy's first Circus act without the most important piece in his life:_ Mom_. She shook her head and messed with his tuft.

"_No_. You _are_ going to perform, I bet mom will be proud of you either way. Wherever she is, I _KNOW_ she knows that you performed and she will be the happiest mom alive". The cub looked back at her, small tears coming fown his muzzle.

"Really?" he asked. The tigress smiled and hugged him.

"Yeah she will. I just know it"

"GAH! COOTIES!"

"I really hate to interrupt this sibling-get-together but we've got a show to attend to" Safēda bared her teeth and growled softly. Of course. The only lion who would dare to interrupt her or usurp her in any way. She looked up from Iggy's tuft to see the brown-maned lion crossing his arms and tapping his foot. He cleared his throat, to begin talking and going over the whole steps again until Rita came in.

"Come on guys! Ve got-" she caught sight of Kidogo and groaned. "Meanie. I vanted to tell them! Now you ruin my happy feelings!" the lion huffed again, with annoyance this time, last time was just impatience.

"I we're gonna beat those sissy Zaragoza animals, we've got to be first and we're gonna do it with STYLE. We'll show them a thing or two with messing with us! Right Saffy?" The tigress merely glared and held the cub tightly who wanted to say that the Zaragoza were cool animals, but that would ruin their secret. He merely glared at his uncle and sniffed once more before he buried his gold head in Saffy's belly. Rita did so as well, but did it her own way by rolling her eyes. An orange orangutan appeared with another tigress behing him, both grinning widely.

"Does this mean we can prank them now!? Me and Anna have been wanting to test out a few tricks" the two asked giddily. Safēda glared at them.

"This will be a_ clean _show you guys. I don't usually care, but there will be no pranks unless I'M in charge of it and if I say so" Kidogo's jaw opened, obviously wanting to start to protest but she threw another glare at him, daring him to continue. The lion then shut his muzzle, mumbling softly. Curse her for inheiriting that glare from her grandfather. The tigress sniffed before walking out the curtain with Iggy's paw in hers. "Let's go" she stated and the butterflies went away... for a while.

0O0

Lights came on, flashing violently across the bare stage where only one bright figure stood amongst a sea of humans. The crowd shushed, and the animals, as well as humans, took their places in their designated seats. All of the show lights formed together into one big light and gave way to the only figure standing in the middle. Safēda's butterlfies returned and she cleared her thoat. The piano played lightly, a quite happy and joyful tune, as expected from a Christmas carol, before the guitars were heard and she opened her muzzle to sing.

"_Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell rock  
Jingle Bells swing and Jingle Bells ring  
Snowing, and blowing up the bushles of fun  
Now the Jingle Bell rock has begun_"

She opened one eye to reveal that some of the audience were rolling their eyes at the obviously cliche of a song her Cicus had chosen. She wanted to stop out of sheer embarrasment, but she might as well keep on singing. Show these humans what a REAL Christmas carol was all about. She lfited up her paws and swung herself around, throwing signals that only looked like a csual flinging of joyful arms. Only the others knew and soon the while stadium had lighted up in an aroma of white, red, and green.

"_Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell rock  
Jingle Bells chime in Jingle Bell time  
Dancing and Prancing in Jingle Bell Square  
In the forst Aiiiiiiiiiir!"__  
_

A ball of red and orange was flying from one swing of rope to another, a tigress followed, throwing knives at fruits, making a delightful snack that landed in a bowl and was given to any of the audience from under. The tigress grinned and sliced more fruits, with her partner swinging like a monkey, for he way of a sort. Pongo swung and swung towards the dancing lions and tigers, as they sang along with Safēda's merry tune. The white tigress smiled. Artica smriked as she fell into what seemed like an endless terrain of white snow, but was shot back up to the tightrope, with the geese carrying ornaments and candy canes in their beaks.

_"__What a bright time is the right time,  
To rock the night a-way!  
Jingle Bell time, is a swell time  
To go ridin' in a one-horse sleigh_

_Giddy Up, Jingle Horse, pick up your feet  
Jingle a-round the clooooock!  
Mix and Mingle to Jinglin' beat  
That's the Jingle Bell, that's the Jingle Bell, that's the Jingle Bell,  
That's the Jingle Bell rooooooooock!_"

She twirled, did a few cartwheels, enjoying her song which never did waver as more animals and humans appeared out of thin air, the unmoveable ground, and the ever-still sides. Iggy was busy dancing in front of some children and laughed when he had accidentally tripped. The children booed but then he started to twirl himself on the ground, following Alex's same footsteps when he was taught to breakdance. He had himself upside down and tirlwed himself on his head. The kids clapped excitedly and cheered for him. Kaden was busy telling everyone they were missing something and to do it, he had proclaimed himself the "Supervisor" to all the acts, which she really did not mind as it kept everyone on schedule. Her focus went back into the song and she came it with full force.

"_The Jingle Bell roooock!  
That's the Jin-gle Bell roooock!  
Yeah  
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell_

_Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays  
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays_"

As she neared the ending of the song, Safēda had looked over to where the other Circuses were and hoped that Vitaly was watching her. She hoped that he was impressed, like the night he caught her singing. She blinked, as she finished the last tune and the other animals went to their finale positions. She paused, and saw Kidogo staring at her intently before she realized her small mistake. She did another cartwheel before she drew a fake giggling from her throat.

_"How's that for a Christmas song?"_

And the crowd cheered.

0O0

"_If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you.  
When mountains crumble to the sea, there will still be you and me._

_Kind woman, I give you my all, Kind woman, nothing more._

_Little drops of rain whisper of the pain, tears of loves lost in the days gone by._  
_My love is strong, with you there is no wrong,_  
_together we shall go until we die. My, my, my._  
_An inspiration is what you are to me, inspiration, look... see."_

Gabby sighed sadly. She ran slowly without rest once again. She and Marty had been secretly talking to each other at night, and she missed most of practice because of that. The new scars that covered her back proved that. The Zebras would constantly whisper that they wished she would never wake up and she surprisingly, did not care, if that meant seeing Marty again, she would gladly do it.

He was everything she would have dreamed. He was courteous whenever he met her at night; he was a true gentleman, he would give her the comfiest spot in the grass; he was funny, he would make her laugh even in the most terrible of her days. The nights to her, the days spent, it was all _worth_ it now. There was no one who could ruin her day anymore, it was all perfect. As it should be.

He kept calling her a beauty, a wonderful mare, a very sweet rose in full blossom. That bit made her blush. He was so charming and she would be upset whenever they had to depart. She hated the sun and how it always would spread her world apart. She had come to love the night as much as her love for Marty grew. It was only when she felt the whip on her back did her trance fall apart and she was brought back to the cruel world, awaken to it's horrible desires.

0O0

"_How Great Thou Art lyrics_

_Oh Lord my God_  
_When I in awesome wonder, Consider all the worlds_  
_Thy hands have made, I see the stars_  
_I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout_  
_The universe displayed_

_Then sings my soul_  
_My Savior, God, to Thee_  
_How great thou art, How great thou art_  
_Then sings my soul_  
_My Savior, God, to Thee_  
_How great Thou art, How great Thou art"_

She balanced herself on the small ball and made a few tricks in the air. The crowd cheered on her more impressive friends who jumped through a fire hoop while in the air, the humans did show off indeed and they never spared her any expense. That is how she preferred it. Catalina rolled on the ball and went around the ring, minding her own business. She did this all the time and she just wished the humans would let her change her act. She looked at Bruno and gromaced. The humasn had wanted her to do some sort of romantic bit but she went against it.

She liked Stefano and only him. She wouldn't do that, it will hurt him and she did not want to hurt her new boyfriend. In fact, she wished she could be with him right now. She wished she was part of Zaragoza's act. She wished that she could be performing with them, not this Circus where Bruno is bothering her every single day and the lousy humans won't even let her change her act.

It was then when she saw Stefano grinning and waving at her, she smiled and waved back. He was watching her, as he had promised and he himself was balancing on a ball and having trouble balancing himself. She giggled lightly, waving even harder. It escaped her that they were ebing observed. Bruno growled. She had only seen him once and already she's acting so weird. He would not have it! He snorted and continued until he saw her eyes. They held a feiry passion, one so powerful he could not mistaken. He wanted those eyes to be for _him_. And they were for that wimp of a Sea Lion!

As he looked at the two, Bruno started to wonder if Catalina's claims that visiting _Fantasie _was all a hoax.

0O0

_A long time ago, when the Earth was green, There was more kinds of animals than you've ever seen. And they'd run around free when the Earth was being born, And the loveliest of 'em all was the unicorn.  
There was green alligators and long-necked geese,Some humpty backed camels and some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you're born,The loveliest of all was the unicorn.  
Well now God seen some sinnin' and it caused Him He said, "Stand back, I'm going to make it rain!" He said, "Hey, Brother Noah, I'll tell you what to do,build me a floating zoo,"  
"and take some of them"..._

She hated this song so much. Why did her Circus have to choose the stupid Irish holiday!? She grumbled silently as the song pused for her to regain some of the lyrics. Her eyes wandered to where Shida and Kaden wer roaring at random crowds, jumping near them, expertly throwing eggs made of milk chocolate at them. The kids loved it. She started to hum once more as the lyrics started once again, Solide sped through here and there, many tried to keep up with him but only a few could spot the haughty smirk in his face. Running could be his life, sadly Shida did not think so.

She looked to her side to see some of those idiot humans pointing and laughing at her. She growled silently. She knew they were making fun of her, making fun of the song she sang, of how the lyrics were so silly and idiotic it made their whole Circus a laughing joke. She paused as she sang and wondered if Alex was doing the same thing now. Well, whatever the case, she'd make up for it, the stupid song may have ruined her chance to impress him, but she swore she would make up for it. No matter what, she'd win him over a million times if that's what it took.

0O0

_You just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine  
Just own the night like the 4th of July_

The red tiger took one huge breath before he appeared in the middle of the arena. The tiny ring stood in it's small glory in front of him, as he took what little time he had measuring and making out how far and how fast he had to run, he found that every time he thought about going through the hoop, images of the pretty lithe white tigress clouding his mind with that cocky smirk. He shook his head. _Alright... focus_. He took one more deep breath and tried to focus his mind but then images of her eyes appeared and he looked at the ring dazzled and confused.

He imagined her dancing, the way she did, doing a circle around him and fluttering her eyelashes teasingly and calling him a pussycat. He found himself purring at the thought but caught himself doing so and shook his head. _Saffy. Out of head. Saffy. Out of head_. He kept repeating it until finally the images were gone and he could focus. All of his annoyance and fustration, he had put into his focus to make this stunt, once again through the colorful fire, made red, white, and blue. American colors, for that extra _"Oomph"_ Alex had explained. He grunted, a bit annoyed.

_'Cause baby you're a firework  
Come on, show 'em what you're worth  
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"  
As you shoot across the sky-y-y_

_Baby, you're a firework_  
_Come on, let your colours burst_  
_Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"_  
_You're gonna leave 'em all in "awe, awe, awe"_

In a flash he left his starting point, fast like a cheetah, and already halfway to his intended spot. With his experience in the Circus since a cub, he did his signature cartwheels, feeling energized and pumped with every push off the ground. With one quick push of his legs, he jumped in the air towards the ring and flew. One claw out, he spun, as ferociously and quickly as he could until he was only a blur. A pop, then silence.

He had done it again.

He smirked as he heard the crowd scream. With one motion of the ring and it's holder, he shot the cane as expertly as he would a knife and landed on a small hole. Lights suddenly burst from that spot and then shattered, and then everyone appeared in colorful red, white and blue, wearing party hats and even Marty added his touch by adding an Uncle Sam beard and hat to his ensemble instead of his usual _"Afro Circus"_ get up.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a big-eyed Iggy, a starstruck Rita, and a puzzled Saffy in their own side of the Arena, watching with wonder glittering in their eyes. He caught Saffy's dull blue eyes for the briefest of moments and unknowingly started a low rumble in his throat before he let out an ear-splitting roar which declared his victory and that of the starting of a fantastic show. He looked back at Safēda and the butterlfies became bigger and he smiled at her when they met eyes once more. He noticed how pretty she looked at that moment, even prettier than when he saw her performing. He noticed that her stripes were pure white, and a diamond spot colored green in the middle of her forehead.

She smiled as well.

Rita leaned over to whisper something into the young tigress' ears. "I think ze roar vas nice touch... Da?". The white tigress looked over to Vitaly who had decided to cheer on his teammates and wait for another round of jumping hoops, all sparkling with red, white, and blue sprinklers. The joy and excitement in his face never left and Safēda felt sudden pride. She nodded, her smile as big as her newfound love for Vitaly was.

"Yes. It was perfect"

**0O0**

***Grins Sheepishly* Okaaaaay. Longer than I earlier promised. *Feels Ashamed*. I blame school. ENTIRELY! I wish Thanksgiving break was here so I could spoil you guys! DX But I hope this chapter makes up for what you've been missing. I noticed I lost a few readers because of me taking long. I hates it.**

**I miss you all. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!**

**I also made more MAD character profiles for the fic if you want to see them. I need more but I'm getting there with Commissions, Gifts, Contest Entires, and Schoolwork I need to do. I hate school now. Totally. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long and hopefully my animation teacher won't give us so much work so I can work on the next Chapter. **

**PEACE!**

**EDIT: Some of you complained that it was too short. Added a bit more stuff but nothing too big ^^; Sorry!**


	31. A Rocky Second Start

**Wow! It sure has been a long while since I've updated this story, and I feel ashamed because I have been putting it off until last night, when I started writing the other half of it. I hope you guys enjoy this one, and start to get used to more Drama here X3 **

**Thanks for still reviewing and still cheering me on you guys! You're the best! X3**

* * *

**Chapter XXXI - A Rocky Second Start**

Darkness enveloped everything in it's wake. It gulped every single thing that moved, making it seem as a mere motionless shadow. The curtains seemed much darker than usual as well, shadows seemed more frequent than usual, and creepy gloom dominated over all. The cages also seemed more formidable than they really were, and it gave those behind it a more feeling of dread, more than need be. It was feelings such as these that told Safi that whatever was going to happen, it was going to be very bad.

It was merely primitive instinct, but more than once did that more babaric and wild side of her tend to be right. She was glad that some of the other animals had shared her feelings. They were merely young cubs or young pups and the like, it pained her to see these poor beings in such a terrible living condition, away from the comfort of their parents. She turned to the bear cub who had been her neighbor since she had gotten there, the Grizzly, Yuuri. He was sound asleep, his paw covering his nose to keep the awful stench away from him as possible. Her face was motionless, and she soon decided it best not to wake the cub from his nap.

Looking back at the curtains that hid them from view from anything other than small peep-holes of light, she started to wonder why Kaden was bent on revenge all so suddenly. He's had all these years to get her back- why now? She sighed sadly to herself as she tried to take her mind off of depressing thoughts like that, by licking her paws clean. In truth, Kaden was a crude son-of-a-Hyena, keeping all these animals in such despicable health conditions, and not even trying to keep them alive. She growled loudly, unknowingly alarming some of the guards who peeked in to check up on the other cubs, and most of all, her.

0O0

Circo Zaragoza were high in their spirits. Too high, in fact. Kidogo would frown and spit in their direction whenever he would spot any of them smiling. Their stupid grins lightening everyone's mood tenfold. How disgusting! He would stand there, staring at them menacingly while the others congratulated themselves on a job well done and a show well put on. He would not call it that, though. Saffy's voice sometimes missed notes, and would forget her steps momentarily. Safi had no problem with that, and he knew, by the look of the judges, who were the audience, and how they looked at the Circus performers, who exactly was going to win, and who was going to lose. He did not like it.

The performers had happily patted each others backs and paraded about with each other, obviously confident that they would win first once again. If they win at least three times, they are already set to win as long as they stay above third place, or are at third place. Rita was happily talking with the other lionesses, discussing dancing tricks they could use for their next theme, all the while bathing Iggy who did not want to get the "tough" cooties but it was either a wash or a trip to the tub. He chose the lesser of two evils for now.

Saffy, however, had the greatest time of her life. She danced. She DANCED. She felt closer to Safi than she ever was since her kidnapping, she felt as if she was really there, watching her every move, and smiling evertime a grin would appear on the young tigress' face. The white cat sighed happily. Even if they did not win this time, she would still have that cheery feeling. She felt Safi's presence. Even if she was not there physically, she still felt her.

She had not noticed it, but Kidogog was near fuming with anger. Those stupid Zaragoza animals think they were all hot! Well, not if HE had anything to say about it! Just wait until the results came in and they are at the bottom- AGAIN! He smiled. Yeah! That would show them that even without Safi they were still on top! They would surely give up Safi once they see they have no use for her now that their newer leader brings in the same results as she once did! Yet... Kidogog stole a look from the white tigress and bit his lip.

Saffy did seem stranger these past two weeks. She hardly ever practiced whenever she was here, sometimes she would be gone the whole day and make up some obvious lie, other times she would sleep and miss the FULL day. He honestly did not know what was happening to her... God forbid she was seeing someone... or yet... seeing someone she was not _supposed _to. A small frown grew on his face when he noticed that she had been continually peeking her eyes open, to stare somewhat longlingly over at Zaragoza.

This made his stomach churn in disgust.

However, Saffy would not be Saffy if her senses had not forced themselves to sense Kidogo in angry mode. Turning her head to the lion, she saw the facial expression of upturned hate, and so, deciding that before he did somehting stupid, made a beeline torwards him. "Kido" she called, warning him of his attitude. The lion flinched at the nickname.

Where did _that _come from?

The Tigress sat beside him in a calm manner which kind of freaked him out. She hardly ever kept a frown too far from her face when he was close, but she seemed eerily calm and collective of the situation. He gulped. Each moment, he saw less of Saffy in her, and more of a logically-minded female who thought rather than acted. So unlike Saffy. "I know you still believe that they are responsible for the kidnapping of Safi" he turned his head abruptly. He did not want to talk about it.

The white feline kept on going, she knew why Kidogo was so worried for Safi's well-being. Hardly many in the Circus knew, but those who thought alot, and knew the way he and Safi reacted could piece two and two together to make one complete picture. Kidogo liked Safi. All of the other females were too overbearing, too whiny, too overconfident, too tough, and too... "manly", but Safi was the only lioness to actually put up with him and give him a sense of logic in his mind, something the older lion treasured most.

Saffy had known of his crush on her mother, and while it sickened her that her adoptive uncle from her adoptive father's side had the possibility of becoming her adoptive step-father was both overbearing and confusing, she could not help but feel pity for him. Kidogo was Justinian's brother- Safi's only true love, and since his buying, Safi's sworn loyalty that she would mate nor marry no other broke his heart. If Safi would only give him a achance and see it. Saffy noted how ironic the situation was, Safi was good at reading animals, yet she was oblivious to Kidogo's minor flirting and strictness with her rules, even if she bended them a bit to her liking.

"Kidogo, you must listen to me. Without proper evidence-"

"_'Proper Evidence'_, Saffy? We found her necklace, the same necklace she wore that day in _his _caravan. What more evidence could you have?" The tiggress bit her lip.

"They could have been framed, Kido-"

"And did you see any possibility of a break in in his car? Any scratches? Noticable dents? Holes where a small animal, per say a pussycat could fit through?" she did not answer back, making the lion smug in his own clever thinking. "You are much like Safi, girl, you see the good side of people. I see everything bad. It makes us complete opposites, yet we both have the ability to work together and decipher the truth from the lies. I believe they are lying to us, and your friend, Catalina, you say was with them during the kidnapping? She claimed everyone was present, correct?"

Saffy nodded. Kidogo merely smiled, as if he was about to prove a point. "Well, when we confronted them about it, and while you threw a well-deserved hissy fit at their Tiger friend, I noticed that one of their memebers looked to be... _tired_" Saffy's ears flipped back and forth, getting quite annoyed at the astounding evidence he had put up. "Why would an animal be tired? We gave them a whole night to sleep before confronting them, did we not? So why would an animal become tired? He looked like he had not slept, with those dark circles under his eyes and yawning like a mule" One of the donkeys overheard him and whined, obviously offended but Kidogo paid him no mind.

"It seems to me that your friend, Catalina, is telling you lies, Saffy. Maybe her little Sea Lion boyfriend has gotten her in it as well, promising her riches or somehting of the sort. Personally, I do not think you should be leaving the Circus so often, you could cost us our-"

"And the results are in folks! In our last arena showdown, _Fantaisie de la Cirque _won first place, the runner up _Circo Freak_, third _Cirque du Majestico_, fourth to _Circo de Flora _and last, but not least, _Circo Zaragoza_. Today, the shifts change, and it made it tougher for our judges to choose the winner and runner up! How sunspensful!" Kidogo sat up all too quickly, scaring the daylights out of the white tigress, and he made a straight line towards the curtains to see through the opening and watch the announcer in all of his glory, announcing the winners of the second round.

Putting his spectacles on, the announcer took out a small, enveloped letter, read, and sniffed. "For an outstanding performance, filled with marvolous faith and belief, as well as inspiring the crowd with awe of both animal and human together- First place goes to _Circo de Flora_!" his jaw dropped slightly, as the whines and cheers of the humans and animals filled the while stadium. Many of the humans danced happily while the animals roared and whined and happily sang their song. Kidogo wanted to growl in fustration, he just KNEW Saffy's disappearance would cause a dramatic change in their performance but that was not the biggest shocker yet.

"For a great display of nationality, partying as well as a great display of red, white and blue-" No. Not- not_ them_! "Second place goes to _Circo Zaragoza_!" Kidogo roared in fustration, but his anger was drowned by the heavy cheers, laughes, excited gasps and the celebration of those moronic animals congratulating themselves of improving so greatly. Angirly, the lion withdrew from the peep hole and slashed at the nearest post, his eyes red with fury. The other animals stood clear of the now fuming, elderly lion, and quickly withdrew from their places to go back to their tent. Saffy and Rita were the only ones who did not move from their spot, still looking at the brown-maned lion as he cursed in Swahili and yelled a thousand curses on Zaragoza.

Rita eyed him for awhile before she had gotten ahold of Iggy's scruff as she cowered beneath her and carried him off, with the other cubs following her. "I did a good job right?" the gold cub asked sadly. The lioness smiled and giggled.

"You did great, cub. Momma vould be proud of dancing cub" she answered. Saffy sighed to herself as she heard Rita's response, normally, Iggy would be asking her that but the cub knew when his sister was in her worst and good moods. This was a not-so-good mood. Once everyone was a good distance away from both of them, she came forward to the lion and sighed.

"We should congratulate them, Kidogo" the animals gasped, snapping their necks in her direction, to decipher if what she had just said was correctly heard, and to see if Kidogo would snap and someone would end up with a broken paw. The lion shakily drew his breath and sared at her incredulously.

"_Congratulate_? They steal Safi, and do not give me any fo that 'their innocent' crap Saffy! They steal our Circus most precious member, get a good score and you want us to_ congratulate _them!?" the tigress nodded.

"It is the most sensible and polite way to handle the situation, besides, I do not want you blowing a gasket for the next two weeks. Just swallow your male pride and accompany me. Maybe if you congratulate them, you will notice that they see no indifference form us and believe Safi to be useless to them if they keep on keeping her. What say you?" she hated twisting the truth into somehting ugly, something Kidogo wanted to hear, but she could not help it. She had to soften this rift, if she were to continually see the others, Vitaly mostly, she had to calm both down in order for them to see true colors. Kidogo breathed for a few moments before swallowing.

"_Fine_" the animals looked at Saffy suspiciously, and the tigress felt the weight ganging up on her but, as usual, Rita dropped in just in time to save her from further inspection.

"Good decision. Safi be proud. She alvays think before, you think now, and working!" she mused, smiling. The animals shared honest looks with Saffy, some of shame, some sheepish and others still with hint of confusion but they left it to be and wandered off. Kidogo sniffed angrily before he started off, without warning and forcing Saffy to run after him.

"You musn't be so harsh, Kidogo, be-"

"I know"

"Kidogo" she spoke, silently but still eerily hostile, "I won't have a fight break out if your mouth says anything other than-"

"I KNOW! Now shut up you stupid tigress, or I will-!" the bigger feline pounced on the older lion and growled as the two came crashing down. The animals quickly left their positions and ran towards the two felines to break up the ensuing fight. The lion struggled beneath her, but managed to whack the feline on the side of her cheek with a resounding _crack! _but, while the stinging of flesh burned, Saffy did not flater.

"Don't. You. EVER. Call me that again, Kidogo! I am YOUR leader so you will TREAT me as such and with respect! You do not run this tent but I do! ME! It's ALL me! And you'd be wise, to understand that!"

"My, my, how rash! I say, I never had a close encounter with a hissycat but I do say, it's quite befitting of you" a voice noted. Saffy nearly jumped at the sudden voice, noting how she did neither recgonize it nor even know where it was coming from. A stunningly beautiful white-maned lion sat pompously, a mirror in his paw and his face entirely fixed on it. He frowned as he flicked a stray hair out of his mane and licked his lips. "Much better!" he said, not noting at the gawps he recieved from the females. He was _dashing_! White pelt, white mane, soft blue eyes, and BOY was he _CUTE_! Saffy could not find the words to describe him, and found herself being limp as a kitten when Kidogo slipped out of her grip with ease.

He frowned at the other lion and growled. This was _HIS_ turf. So what was Mr. Glossy pants doing here? The white lion's eyes went from the gold mirror to the crowd and his eyes teasingly twinkled. "Oh! My manners! My name's Diamond. I was bought by the humans here for, uhm, _dating_ purposes" he flushed lightly, making the feline gals swoon and sigh. That was the cutest thing they've seen! A white lion, blushing! That pink color in his cheeks, so beautiful!

"_'Dating'_ purposes? Y-you mean, breeding, do you not?" one of the felines asked eagerly, taking his whole being in. The lion flipped his hair nonchallantly and smirked, something the feline's dropped dead at.

"Put it in a crude way that only barbarian use, but yes. I am bought for breeding future cubs, but sadly, I am only one Diamond, and so I can only have one mate" the female flinched at the comment, but the other girls surrounded him eagerly, hoping that one of them was to date this hotty. Saffy felt her cheeks heaten when his eyes traveled over them and fixated themselves on her. He looked her up and down, and smiled appreciatively. Saffy's cheeks could fry eggs. he pushed the flock of fangirls aside and made a beeline torwards her.

Rita gasped lightly, just enough so no one could hear her. This could ruin EVERYTHING! And Saffy was just admiting to liking Vitaly! It would happen all over again! It cannot be! She wanted to push this so-called Diamond into mud to make him less presentable, but even she could not do so in fright of offending the lion. He was muscular, and she could tell he was bad news. She did not know how, if he was so good-looking and seemingly respectful, but her intuition was almost never wrong.

"Dear Saffy, you look more beautiful up close!" he kissed her cheek, which made the tigress stand completely still in shock. He hugged her and whispered seductively in her ear.

_"We'll be very happy together"_

0O0

Alex could not believe it, but he did, for it was happening. He grinned widely as the animals celebrated their improvement in winning second place, while not first but he figured something like this could only happen in cheesy stories, but it was REALLY happening! Alex celebrated with his three best friends before going to each and every member of their little Circus, including the Penguins who declared the act too "mushy" for their liking, until he saved the best for last: Gia.

Sometimes, he would catch her jumping around excitedly and he would escape form view if she ever called his name. This time he would do it. This time he would kiss her. This time, it would be perfect and while the others were busy celebrating, he and Gia would be busy kissing up a storm! He smiled as finally, he congratulated, and shared a few jokes with the last animal and finally he could confront Gia. The Jaguar smiled winningly as she removed the paint from her fur and giggled when Alex grabbed her form the waist and spun her around.

"Haha! Alex! We did it! We got seonc place! I thought we may improve to third but we made it to SECOND! _È fantastico_!" she exclaimed, twirling herself around. Alex laughed and caught her as she faked a fainting and heard her childish giggle. What a cute giggle.

"We did do it! Thanks to you and everyone else!" the Jaguar lightly flicked his nose.

"And you, Lion guy! You too!" Alex laughed lightly before clearing his throat.

"Uhhmmm... Gia?" he asked, almost in a whisper. She raised an eyebrow curiously before she smiled.

"Yes Alex?"

"Uhm, well, we've had all these attempted kisses and they've been an epic fail, but I have a good feeling about today... right now, in fact" the Jaguar fluttered her eyelashes and teasingly circled him.

"Do you, Alex?" she laughed. The brown lion smirked and twirled her once again in the air.

"Yep! I just want to say that-"

"Alex, I know. You love me, so can we just kiss already? I love you too" she smirked as she got ahold of a hoop and wrapped it around his neck. Alex smirked lightly and leaned forward to kiss her-

"Alex! There you are! I-" Grace paused and looked at the sight in fornt of her. Alex and Gia... kissing. Oh why must he be so cruel to her? She frowned slightly at Gia but smiling winningly at the glossy-maned lion. Alex gulped. _Uh oh_. Gia smiled, not sensing the uncertainty between the pale lioness and her boyfriend, and stepped forward, hand out.

"Hello! You friend of Alex? Nice to meet you!" Grace noted the Italian accent and fumed. She slapped Gia's paw aside and shoved past her.

"I'm not Alex's friend. I'm his _REAL_ girlfirend. I came here to tell him how much I LOVE him" Gia's face fell, Alex's jaw dropped, Marty gasped, Gloria and Melman blinked, Vitaly looked murderously at Alex and the others were just stunned. The lion gulped silently and decided to swallow his fright and take her head on.

"Look, I do not know you, nor do I want to. I love only Gia. _ONLY_ Gia! You can say whatever you want but Gia is _MY_ real girlfriend! I am not, in any form or way, interested in you, so you better scurry before I get security!" The lioness stood there, appaled and infuriated. How DARE he!? He had refused her! AGAIN! In front of his mate! She was far prettier than the stupid Jaguar girl, she was far smarter than the stupid cat and she was certainly more CIRCUS that she ever was! So why did he still go for that lump of baggage when he could have HER?

Growling, she pointed a paw at Gia. "YOU! If you ever touch him again, you'll be sorry! Alex is MINE! You don't deserve him! I calim him! He's MINE and only MINE!" and she ran off, tears running down her face. She'd show Alex. He is probably not thinking well, how can he choose a Jaguarover him unless the Jaguar was blackmailing him? She'd get that stupid cat, and then Alex will finally fall head-over-heels for her and they'd live happily ever after! Like it was always meant to be!

* * *

**You all MUST hate me for leaving you at a cliff hanger, I wanted to write more but the things that come in my mind for Gia's reaction are not her, so while I figure out this next part, I bid you all _Adieu_! _Au revoir! A la prochaine! Adios! :D_**


	32. For Keeps

**So… uhm, yeah, it has occurred to me that my vibe for CS is shrinking fast, with my scanner gone **_**kaput **_**on me, no new art is coming and I think that is affecting me greatly with my knack as an Artist. I would usually draw for fun but what is the point when I cannot color it without messing it up in the traditional way? **

**I'm hoping that, as I go back to school, I can find a scanner there and scan all of my work onto my USB so I can give you all a smorgasbord of art, and, hopefully, more stories! X3**

**Until then, updates to this story will be halted, as well as some of the other stories I am working on, but I am having oodles of ideas for other fandoms and the other stories- NOT this one, which is strange. So, hopefully, you guys will love this Chapter as I do, thanks to a certain **_**Funkywatermelon**_** who ****pressed**** cheered me on as I wrote this XD**

**I shall not give up! Not while I am so close! So… enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Madagascar or any of its characters. That right does fully to DreamWorks Animation, and their **_**amazing**_** creators. The only characters I own are most of the OC's, while a selected few belong to others who I have permission to use **_**as I see to it**_**.**

* * *

**Chapter XXXII – For Keeps**

Gia could not believe it. Was it even possible? Could it be that- no, she couldn't believe that lioness' claim over Alex's tale, even if she had yet to hear his side of the story for this predicament. But what if this lioness, this "Grace", was right? She would never get over it, surely, but the bigger question would be why would Alex even do something like that? She had been a good girlfriend, hopefully.

Was it the stress? Was it the fact that he wanted to go over to the next level and no one has allowed for them to do so? Her head was swirling in its own madness with all of these forming questions. She gulped silently as the tension grew ever more so in these past few moments after the pale lioness's leaving.

She just forgot to expect this next reaction.

Knives went flying through the air in Alex's direction and the lion, as usual, barely managed to dodge them in a comical stance against the wall, with a nervous smile of his face. Vitaly merely huffed as a javelin twirled among his paws. "I missed" the tiger huffed, an evident frown of disgust dominating his lips. "Now Lion explain to little _sestra_ vy he keeping bad secrets". Alex was quick to not only please Gia and tell her his side, but also to avoid that heavily packed Javelin from the Russki's paws.

Gia's Amber gold eyes locked with Alex's clear blue ones. She could trust him, she just knew it. She cannot take a jealous fancat's word over his, but… she had to admit this did not make her feel any better against him. She was still coming over distrust from their previous scandal. But this time, he was here to stay, and there must have been a reason other than the joyous ride of being in a Circus did Alex, on behalf of his friends, to accept.

"Gia-" he began but the Jaguar merely smiled and held her paw up.

"I want to trust you Alex, I do not know this cat, but I do not want to lose trust either if her claim is true" his face faltered, and Gia's heart sank. She hated to be put in a position like this, where it made it seem that she was the bad cat when she was only doing what is reasonable. "And… to make sure no one gets in a fight… I want to speak to Alex _alone_" this was mostly on behalf of Vitaly, who she knew could be very overprotective and there was no telling what the older tiger was thinking of doing to Alex at this moment.

As she expected, the Tiger gave her a somewhat strange look before he expressed his opinion on the matter- of her decision.

"_Nyet_. I stay" he declared, apparently stubborn. Gia furrowed her brow seriously.

"I am a big girl, Vitaly. I can handle this on my own" she countered but Vitaly would have nothing of it. Other animals, some who knew where this little squabble would end up, decided to leave. Alex looked at his three friends, who wanted to desperately help him and back him up but Alex shook his head. He brought this mess upon himself, he should have told Gia about the threat of this Lioness, and it made him more suspicious but nothing would stop him from telling Gia what really went down before someone like Vitaly had his mane stripped.

"It's alright guys, me and Gia can fix this. I _will_ fix this." He said trying to act confident while his own was wavering away but he won't give up so easily even if the odds were against him. Meanwhile, Gia and Vitaly were still squabbling in their own problems. While Marty, Melman, and Gloria, respected Alex's decision and left, Vitaly was not so willing to let his little _sestra _be alone with Alex, a lion who constantly has others mistrusting him over decisions he made.

"Vitaly!" the young Jaguar hissed once more, this time, she was not going to try and talk to him nicely, and she meant it. "I want to be alone with Alex! You cannot stay!" the Tiger merely huffed, chest puffed out.

"Vy? He can no longer be trusted. He not vorthy of your trust" he spoke, forcefully but with a hint of sadness. Truthfully, the lion had grown on Vitaly, however impossible that may have seem but in truth, Alex was the reason Vitaly was happy again… he did not want this little rumor to be possible but Gia was his first priority and he had warned the lion about breaking his little _sestra_'s heart. He also did not want to admit that Gia was growing up.

The Jaguar would not let up.

"I want to trust him, make my own choices for myself Vitaly. You have other things to worry about" her eyes rose suggestively in a way only Vitaly could know. He knew exactly who she meant, and he hated the fact that his cheeks heated right after. Safēda. Gia's smirk widened and she playfully pushed him to the nearest exit. "I believe you have not told her that she did a well job in her performance, _giusto_?" she giggled lightly when the Tiger fumbled horribly.

"You distract me! I stay!"

"No! You go! And maybe Saffy will be happy to see you, you think?" the teasing was taking its toll and Gia could sense it. She knew about their little predicaments here and there, and she would be an idiot for not saying that the white tigress, as well as her brotherly figure were falling hard for each other, they just had a hard time accepting it. The Tiger, while he knew that Gia was just riling him up to just get out, could not stop himself from thinking about the possibility of seeing the tigress again.

He admitted it to himself. The tigress was not only pretty in tiger terms but she was also hotheaded, talented, and just knew how to amuse him with her schemes. Alex stood by the sidelines, silently gawking at the pair at how they maneuvered. Vitaly had a- _crush_? A crush on the spit-fire tigress, no less, this could only mean one thing for him now: He _had_ to press Gia for this further more once this whole predicament was solved.

Gia's smooth talking to Vitaly had somewhat worked and she managed to kick him out, and now, it was time to explain to Gia everything he knew. He was not going to make the same mistake again, and he will not break Gia's heart like he did the last time. He promised her. He will not break a promise, and not to Gia of all cats.

The Jaguar sighed softly, turning towards Alex with a small grin on her face. "That took time, but at least he won't be able to scare you…" Alex had to stifle a small chuckle. He was embarrassed that his girlfriend was the one protecting him and not vice versa.

"Thanks…" he sighed. Gia's visage then turned from playful to seriously saddening, Alex was quick to catch it and no sooner did he that he started to explain rather quickly.

"Gia! Look, whatever she said, I never- She's lying! I swear! I've only met her once-"

"So why didn't you tell me?" Gia questioned, interrupting him. Alex bit his lip nervously. He did not want to mess this up. Gia could either lose all of her trust in him, or gain it. Darn it, why did telling the truth had to be so hard but it was the right thing to do? Why did the truth have to get all different kinds of reactions? Gulping down nausea, he spoke.

"I didn't because I thought that she wasn't going to bother me for good. I just followed her one night-"

"Why would you follow a strange lioness?"

"I wasn't finished!"

"Ah, Sorry…" he felt harsh and mean for yelling like that. Alex sighed and walked over to his girlfriend, his eyes holding something of a sad light and a hesitant emotion she could not decipher. He looked into her eyes and Gia saw that he was serious, more serious than he had ever been.

"The reason I never told you about Grace is because I honestly thought that she meant no harm… that and I never thought she would barge in here and threaten you. Otherwise, I would have made my point straighter than it would have been and told you immediately… I was stupid not to, either… I'm sorry, Gia. I honestly did not mean for things like this to happen, I like you. Heck, I don't like, I LOVE you. I care about you… a lot, almost as much as Vitaly cares for you as a sister but I love your as MORE than a friend…" he sighed.

"I would never do anything to hurt you, Gia. I promised you that. Remember that promise? The one after you and the gang saved my life from DuBois? You remember that cool night? With fireworks and…" the skin on his cheeks turned red, and his fur turned a noticeably red, something that Gia found utterly adorable when he admitted to her that he would like to spend more time with her on their first date in Paris when they did a show a few days after DuBois' defeat. The Jaguar smiled and purred, rubbing against his mane.

"Of course I remember. Silly lion" she cooed, making Alex smile lightly.

"You do?"

"Of course" she looked at him with the sappiest, amber gold eyes. "How could I forget that?" The lion felt a swell of happiness and pride. Well, he was scared that Gia would not remember which she did and that fact alone was good. He hugged her.

"Well? Do you really think, after all that you and I, plus the Circus, have been through… you think I can just turn away from you like that?" Gia felt silly for thinking Alex could ever betray her. In fact, it was too absurd now that her head was clearing a bit. Alex was always nice; he always tried to do the right thing for himself and his friends, for everyone. True, he was very naïve to the ways of the world, which was proven when he actually got Vitaly's permission to take Gia on their first date, thinking that now they were all buddy, that the Tiger would not at least threaten him with a knife or possible castration… oh Alex.

But how could she think he would possibly turn away from her? He lived in Africa, and certainly there were a lot of pretty and fit females he could have chosen, he was good looking. Her cheeks reddened. But she remembered how he looked at her whenever they had first met. That cold night in Monte Carlo, when they wanted to board the train and he caught a glimpse of her. She wanted to giggle at the memory. His eyes noticeably widened, his words had escaped his heart, and his running had slowed a bit and though she, too, was breathless from how handsome he looked, she had tried to keep a serious face.

It was a good memory.

She hugged Alex back. She was stupid to believe his lion would turn his back on her for another. She was incredibly stupid and too distrusting; she would never make that same mistake ever again! "Alex, I am so sorry! I shouldn't have judged you so fast I- I'm so sorry! I'm a bad girlfriend! I-" Alex merely pressed his nose against hers. Gia's cheeks turned from red to scarlet as she realizes how arm his nose was against hers. She had only seen Vitaly and his mate doing that on special occasions, she understood what it meant and it was one of the most important showers of affection a mate can give to his own… and she had her own.

**0O0**

The red tiger scoffed to himself as he stood outside of the red curtains that held Gia and Alex in, and him out. He should have known Gia would forgive him too easily. Most of what the lion said did not add up according to HIS standards. If he had seen what they were doing now- he would have flipped, but he respected Gia's decision to stay out and not interfere, but she never said anything about listening into their conversation. Stefano had caught him in the act but the older Sea Lion decided not to get in between Vitaly's brotherly instincts to protect his sister and Gia's problem with Alex. He could not believe that Alice would do such a thing but the aftermath would have to wait until later. Hearing them talk so mushily… it made Vitaly's stomach churn. Not with disgust, but with _jealousy_.

His feelings open like his palm; he could not shake the idea of him and Saffy from his head. Did she feel the same way? Sure, they may have shared their… moments, but it was merely teasing and arguing most of the time, he did not even know what she thought of him, or what her favorite color was or why she even knew Vitaly's mentor… this drove him a bit crazy, not knowing but he promised himself the next time she came, he would try to find out.

No matter, now, to only keep a close eye on Alex. He may have proven himself once, and he may have earned acceptance from Gia in some way but there was no way the lion would escape HIS gaze from now on. Every little move he made, he would be there watching him. Any suspicion he would take head on… man, Gia was right, he was a bit overprotective. He chuckled as he imagined the form of little Gia rolling her eyes, replying: "A little?"

Well, maybe he will visit the white tigress tomorrow; he had not seen them since a few days before the show. He still remembered the scent of her fur. He remembered the lilac perfume spread over her slim, attractive body, her blue orbs, her pinkish nose, those chocolate brown stripes decorating her body… he shook his head. He had to get his mind out of the gutter now. In fact, he needed the fresh air now that his mind will not keep her out of his mind.

Leaving his space outside the curtains, he made way to the entrance of the tent, ignoring the fact that he heard someone outside, humming to himself and not knowing that he was about to collide with him. Marty went headfirst and yelped, keeping the pink basket firmly in his muzzle as he fell back. Vitaly merely felt a clumsy bump on his back before looking back to the Zebra sprawled on the floor and hanging onto the basket for dear life. Once he sighed, in relief that nothing came out of the basket, he got up, a crooked smile on his face.

"You, sorry, Russki, don't mind me, I was just passin' through!" the Zebra quickly trotted away quickly to the back of the tent and Vitaly wondered what in the world the Zebra was up to now. Shrugging, Vitaly made up his mind to not follow the Zebra and instead head over to his car to get some rest… and to think on his position.

**0O0**

Marty sighed, relieved that Vitaly chose not to follow him. He was actually caught off-guard there for a second, and he made sure no one of his presents for Gabby had fallen off. He managed to get some of Stefano's girl's chocolates and sneak them in here. Gabby did say she had not tasted chocolate and Marty was proud to be the first one to give it to her. A girl who never ever tasted chocolate? Unheard of, he was sure!

He was just excited to see her again, her act at the show was brutal, and he wanted to turn away from watching, but that helped him see something he knew had to be done. Gabby had to be taken away from her horrible masters. They treated her so horribly, and the animals did as well, making her a broken and shy little thing. He decided that he would make her feel better with this basket as a present, and to give her hope that one day, he _will _get her out of that horrible excuse for a Circus. More like prison.

As his form finally came over the last hill into _Freak_'s territory, he heard galloping hooves and, for a second, he was afraid that it may be those awfully terrible Zebras who abused his poor girl, but then this particular mare he recognized… it was Gabby. Tears were running down her muzzle, her nose was swollen as was her cheeks and eyes. He dropped the basket in shock. Across her body were fresh scars that were evidently the causing of whips. They were terrible, and Marty wanted to knock those humans into the ground for hurting her!

Gabby collided into him, crying loudly and sobbing uncontrollably. "M-m-Marty! Th-th-th-th-th-they wh-wh-whipped m-me! I-I-It hurts s-s-s-s-so b-b-bad!" he could barely hear her cry as her muzzle was drowned into his shoulder. The stallion hushed her and patted her back as softly as he could. He did not want her scars to sting as badly as they seem to. He did not even want to imagine all of the pain these scars caused his girl. One day, she won't have to worry about being whipped ever again- he promised it.

"Hey, hey, come on now, don't cry. I know it hurts, and that is exactly why I brought you this" he held the basket, smiling a bit. Gabby's crying ceased for a while before she looked up, luminous pink eyes blinking up at him, and then turning to see the neatly packaged basket, completed with pink ribbons, pink plastic, and a mouthful of goodies inside. A small smile formed her lips and the stinging did not seem so bad now.

"Oh… M-Marty" she sniffed again as she took the basket in her hooves. She started at it, teary-eyed, and sniffed again. "This is s-s-so s-sweet of y-you!" she held the small basket delicately and awed at its perfection and simple, but expensive-looking decorations. "No one h-has ever g-gave me s-s-something l-like this be-before" her smile widened and she hugged the basket. She then set it down on the ground, making sure the ribbons did not go undone and no trace of dirt would dirty it.

She hugged Marty as tightly as she could then, sending the two equines down the hills. No matter how much the pain hurt for Gabby, Marty's love and affection for her were greater. Laughing, the two came up back the hill and Marty once again had the precious gift in his hand, and gave it to his sweetheart.

"Look, I know we've haven't known each other that long, but I do know you're the best thing's that's ever happened to me!" Gabby blushed and hid behind her gift, suddenly bashful. Marty smiled and took her hoof. "And, y'know what? I am sick and tired of these guys bullying you because they feel like it!" Gabby gasped.

"No Marty! I can't stand to see what they will do to you if you-"

"Exactly, I don't want you getting into trouble anymore, not even for me, so I've decided that, before this Contest ends- my Circus WILL buy you! And you'll be a lot happier with us than with them!" his head beckoned towards her home circus- a gloomy prison in the dark. Gabby merely stared onto Marty, her eyes filled with disbelief. Was he really- did he mean it? Yes! He did! That passion in his eyes! How could he possibly NOT love her!? He really did! This- this is a dream come true!

Tears welled up in her pink eyes and once again, Gabby found herself crying on his shoulder, but these tears were not of sadness, obviously, but they were ones filled with joy and happiness. Finally. FINALLY! Someone had cared for her, and loved her, and wanted her to be by their SIDE! She finally had a friend, and he was a most pleasant one, but he was more than that! He was her day, her night, her everything! If he left, if they were to break apart, Gabby did not know what she would do.

Marty knew that too.

Smiling, the Zebra kissed her and watched as the female blushed terribly and fidgeted. That must have been her first kiss… he blushed. It was his too. An idea formed in his head and he knew _exactly_ what to do next to brighten up Gabby's spirit. Taking her hoof, his smiled noticeably widened. Gabby caught that look.

"What?" she asked curiously. The male Zebra merely laughed.

"Well, I've decided that if we're going to buy you, you might as well get used to the idea of us! I'm going to warn you though, we're kinda crazy! Especially Alex!" Gabby smiled. Alex, he was Marty's best friend, right? Yes, that much he knew. Ooh! She could not wait to see his friends, his family, and she hoped she herself would find some good friends in them… she wished she could feel like she was at home like Marty does.

**0O0**

Gloria smiled as Melman seemed to have accidentally mistaken some dandelions for balls of cotton and had freaked because, well, Melman thought cotton was a very itchy fabric. She laughed lightly as he reassured himself that Dandelions were nice flowers and most certainly NOT itchy pieces of cloth. "Oh Melman" she chided, "You can't freak out over every flower, are there any that you are not allergic to?" At this, Melman thought.

"W-well… Petunias are nice, but they make me chafe… and Roses are beautiful but their thorns cut my skin… and the Lotus has a pretty color but they are located so far away-" Gloria started to laugh.

"Oh Melman, whenever you get me flowers, do you care whether they make you sick or sneeze or-" Melman gasped.

"Of course not! You deserve the best, and so what if they make me sneeze, or cut me, or make me have rashes? I have to deal with it!" Gloria raised an eyebrow.

"Aww Melman! Sweetie, don't put yourself in danger for me, baby. I don't want you getting hurt. Besides, my favorite flower is the Orchid, and you like orchids, so you don't have to get another flower" Melman chuckled nervously, suddenly thinking of that diamond ring he had asked the Penguins to get her, he hoped that it came and was finished by the time he wanted it to be done… he hoped that it will come out beautifully so he could propose to Gloria… she did not know anything yet but he hoped that, if he could not give her children, he at least could give her the life she deserved.

Melman smiled at her.

"Orchids are indeed beautiful, you rival them in form and beauty, Gloria" the hippo blushed and fluttered her eyelashes bashfully.

"You really think so Melman?" the Giraffe nodded.

"Well, YES Gloria! You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on! I would like nothing better than to please you, because, you are my queen, and your happiness is what I live for- nothing else will sustain me like you have... not even medicine!" Gloria's brown eyes grew wider, and brighter in the night than it ever could during the day. He meant it… he really did. The two bumped heads gently and their lips, just centimeters away, were puckering until a familiar voice called.

"Melman! Gloria! I- OH! Whoa! Did I interrupt something!?" Marty came up running to them, then halting as he saw the couple about to- well… yeah. Gloria blushed as did Melman who politely greeted their friend. Marty grinned from ear to ear and stood side to introduce someone who they had not noticed that stood behind him. She looked like Marty in stature, only a bit curvier in a feminine way, her stripes were a light creamy peach, her eyes looked to be pink, and she had a funky hairdo in the front of her head, almost like a bang. Gloria's eyes widened as sudden realization dawned on her.

"Guys- I'd like to introduce you to my girlfriend- Gabrielle, or Gabby, for short!" The small beauty shyly shook her head.

"Pleased to meet you" she whispered silently, almost inaudibly so. Gloria's grin did not waver and Melman has his jaw hanging open.

"MARTY! That's wonderful!"

"Please tell me she doesn't have the flu, I hear it's contagious-"

"Melman!" Gloria gasped. "Don't be like this yet! We need to introduce ourselves to Gabby!" Gloria came forward and held her hand out happily to the Albino zebra. Gabby hesitated before she placed her hoof on the Hippo's hand. Gloria shook it, nice and easy, she did not want to scare her friend's new girlfriend away.

"I'm Gloria! It's a pleasure to meet you! Marty never told us about you, I wonder why" she eyed the Zebra curiously. Marty grinned sheepishly.

"It was going to be a surprise… surprise!" Marty exclaimed, grinning. Gloria still glared at him before she turned her attention fully on Gabby.

"Oh well, I hope you and I can be good friends! It's a relief to see he's going to settle down, poor baby, he's been so lonely. I mean, you could tell, always looking at the other couples-"

"Ah hem! Gloria, Melman still hasn't introduced himself!" Marty piped in quickly, slightly embarrassed. Gloria always acted kind of like the big sister or the mommy of the group. She would be all cool, then go mommy-gonna-embarrass-you mode. But she would not be Gloria is she was not. Gloria laughed lightly, ashamed.

"I'm so sorry, forgive me, Melman, baby, I am so sorry- I didn't know what was going over me when-"

"It's alright, honey, I understand. You were excited, no biggie-"

"Wait!" Gabby quickly piped in, her eyes filled with shock. She pointed at Gloria. "You're Gloria and he-" she pointed at Melman. "Is Melman?" the three friends nodded, kind of confused at her confusion. The female turned to Marty, honest shock in her eyes.

"B-but, I thought they were _both_ hippos" Melman and Gloria looked at Marty, their eyebrows high and Marty laughed sheepishly, another mistake.

"Ah, well, I guess I didn't mention some minor things…"

"MINOR?"

**0O0**

It did not take long for Gabby to immediately warm up to Gloria and Melman, well, it was hard to say he was more frightened of her than she was of him, and it took her a while to convince him she did not have lime disease, and she realized that was how some of his friend's felt when they were dealing with her. Oh, darn it all! Why did she have to be so scared of every single little thing? Marty was brave! Be brave like Marty! For him!

And so, every time they would bump into or meet someone new, Gabby would immediately want to introduce herself and show Marty how brave she was. Marty thought she was just getting over her shyness now that there was a good chance she may join their little entourage, but it made no difference as to how happy she felt.

His Gabby deserved to be happy.

Melman and Gloria had left a little while after. Melman had discovered the whipping scars on her back, due to his neck's height, and Gloria was simply appalled. The pair decided to fetch some pain-relieving pills and soothing ointment from Melman's car, something that told Gabby that they must care if they were to go to lengths like medicine if they really saw that she was a good person. Regularly, the humans would merely put bandages and wouldn't care if they developed a sickness.

The pain had slowly gone away, but it was still there, and she knew Marty was simply worried about her and her fragile form. The humans had not only whipped her, but they decided, as further punishment, she would get nothing to eat. He was quick to get her to unwrap her present, to find oodles of chocolate and pastries that Gabby selfishly devoured without asking Marty if he would like some, but the stallion understood.

By the looks of it, Gabby had not eaten in a few days, and he rather liked the taste of Kentucky blue grass better than he did chocolate… almost.

As the female finished her desert, she found her stomach in good condition, and happy that it finally have a decent meal in a while. Marty then decided that it was good to introduce her to Alex and Gia, if the pair was finished with their private talk. He hoped they had settled it quickly, apparently, they had not come out of the tent yet, and everyone was kind of restless because of it. No one had seen Vitaly, just him, and that was before he left.

He guided his girlfriend through the cars, pointing out who was whose and the ways he colored the murals with the paints he had gotten from Stefano. Gabby paid attention to nothing other than what he said. Every word, she memorized, and she made sure that Marty did not feel as if she was ignoring him. He was saving her life right now. He had no idea. She will repay him in any way she could.

A flash of red and her focus was broken, as was her earlier proclamation. This silhouette was large, muscular, and scary looking. She whimpered lightly and hung near Marty's side, trying to get away from the shadow. Marty had caught the look of fear in her eyes and his eyes traveled to where she was staring. The shadow moved across the cars and Marty recognized the shadow. He knew Gabby would just freak out if she saw him and quickly whispered to her to keep calm.

"Alright look, this next guy may look like he wants to fry you, but it's just Vitaly. Grumpy cat, remember?" the female nodded her head, remembering, but that did not make her feel any better with a rather mean-looking tiger who looked like he was angry at something… or at someone. "You wanna go meet him?" the male asked. Gabby shook her head wildly. No. Marty whistled a bit, "Alrighty then! Let's go see if Alex isn't busy"

And luckily for the Zebra, Gia and Alex had ended their little pep talk and had come out without Alex bearing any scars for Gia's nose and cheeks puffy. Everything was okay… he hoped. Marty immediately went up to greet the two, with Gabby lagging as she saw the lion. Marty did not mention that Alex was a _lion_. She quickly grabbed him, silently begging.

"N-not him e-either!" she squeaked, causing a shocked expression from her boyfriend's face. He looked at Alex, and then at Gabby, obviously battling between two people.

"But… why? Alex isn't a bad guy! I mean sure he can be a bit overdramatic and overbearing but he wouldn't be Alex if he wasn't!" Gabby once again shook her head.

"No! He's a lion!"

"So you don't like him because he's a lion?" Marty question, offended that Gabby would think Alex like a bad guy just because of what he was, was that how she saw all of his friends? Did she not like them? Gabby could see the pain in his teal eyes, and she grew guilty by the minute. Thank god Gloria had heard their squabble and decided to butt in.

"Hey!" she greeted happily, with Melman not too far off carrying medicine in his clumsy hooves. Gabby giggled lightly before waving shyly.

"Hello Gloria" she greeted quietly. The hippo looked over at Alex and Gia's direction and there was a sigh of relief.

"Oh good, they got everything figured out, I'm glad. That Grace girl really scared me… and I'm worried for Gia and Alex because of her" the hippo snorted angrily and Gabby's ears perked. Grace? She knew that name… and she knew something about her too, but she just could not- "So what is with you not wanting to meet Alex? He's such a pussycat!" Gloria laughed.

"Don't forget dramatic" Marty added. Gloria laughed once more, nodding her head.

"Dramatic" she agreed. Gabby sniffed, feeling like she was such a jerk for not meeting this so-called wonderful and dramatic lion who was supposedly her boyfriend's best friend.

"It's just… he's a lion… and I'm a Zebra… we're natural enemies…"

It was Marty's turn to laugh.

"Do ya think I would be here if Alex wasn't that kind of li- well… he did bite me on the butt once, but he was starving, and I can't blame him, can I? Besides, if he was Kentucky Blue Grass, and I starved, well, I would go crazy with my best friend being my favorite meal-" the albino squeaked once more. Marty bit his tongue and changed tactics. "You wanna see my mark? Where he bit me?" The Zebra turned for Gabby to see that the side of his butt had rather raggedy looking scars. A thought entered her head and she laughed. Marty blinked.

"What?"

"You reminded me of a My Little Pony doll" she laughed again, causing Marty to raise an eyebrow and Gloria, who got the joke, laughed as well. Melman finally came without dropping the numbing cream for the tenth time, and gave her the cream, as well with the rest of antibiotics he brought for her out of fear for the flu. Gabby smiled and took the medicines from Melman.

"Thank you very much, Melman… I never received Medicine before"

"You haven't!?" Melman shrieked, causing everyone from a quarter mile away to hear him… including Marty's carnivore friends. Melman started to panic. "This is BAD! We need to get you to a vet- PRONTO! Who knows what diseases you have be building right now! We need to get you treated for EVERYTHING! Lung worms, tape worms, flue, Chicken pox, small pox, Tuberculosis-"

"Why is Melman yelling out diseases that mostly humans get again?" Alex asked, scaring Gabby and causing Melman to gasp.

"They are not ONLY for humans!"

"Uh huh, riiiight, Melman" Alex scoffed, playfully rolling his blue eyes. Meanwhile, as both Lion and Giraffe went back and forth, Marty had grabbed a hold of his girl and grinned from ear to ear.

"Yo Alex! I would like you to meet my girlfriend- GABBY!" The lion turned and smiled at Gabby, causing the female Zebra to almost collapse and faint on the spot. She shook terribly as the lion held out his paw.

"Well it's about time! I mean, really, Marty? It took you this long to get a girl?" Marty blushed and slapped Alex's shoulder, harder than usual.

"Aw shut up! She's been wanting to meet you guys! Her owners are simply horrible and I-"

"Uhm, Marty? Sweetie?" Gloria piped quickly. "Why don't you introduce her first instead of those nasty neighbors?" The equine nodded and continued.

"I've been seeing her for a few weeks now… And I've finally decided to bring her in to celebrate!" Alex raised an eyebrow and looked at Gabby closely.

She could just be another spy or something, just waiting to- "Hello! I'm Gia! It's a pleasure to meet someone who finally threw Marty off his feet!" the albino shyly took the Jaguar's paw and shook it slowly. She didn't know what Jaguar's ate, but she was sure that they ate no Zebra. Good.

"So! Where are you from? Why are you so pale- I mean, not that it doesn't look good because it does, you are very pretty! And you have pink eyes! How come? They are so pretty! I wish I had pink eyes!" the feline said quickly, her brown eyes as wide as a cub's. Gabby gasped. No one had ever called her pretty minus Marty. He always did- so did this Jaguar really think she was- _pretty_? Gabby smiled.

"I-I'm actually an Albino, that's why I'm p-p-pale. M-my eyes are p-pink because of th-that t-too" she spoke, a bit more loudly than she usually did. These friends of Marty's were so open and loud, she did not want to disappoint either of them. They were really nice and gave her no reason to be so shy and they did not make fun of her pelt, which was a bonus. They at least deserved a good explanation of her.

"An albino, huh? Wow. Never met one of those before" Alex commented, still eyeing Gabby before he looked back at Marty. "She's a lot prettier than that Okapi we met in Africa" Alex commented. Marty's eyes widened and his blush was noticeable from a mile away. Gabby turned to her boyfriend curiously.

"Who?"

"Oh... no one, in particular" Gabby eyed him, almost glaring. The male sighed. "She was, ah, a girl I had a crush on back in Africa… I mean, she was nice and all, but later on, I found that she wasn't my type… that much" he glanced nervously to his friends for back up much none saw fit to add much more. In truth, they did not really know that much about Marty's relationship with her- only that he was devastated when they had broken up before they left Africa. The albino stared at him, a bit of jealousy rising in her chest.

This Okapi… Marty loved one before her… could it be possible he still might? She felt nervous. She did not want Marty to leave her. He was the only good thing that happened to her in her whole life. The Zebra, catching the uneasy look Gabby gave way, quickly added much more to reassure her.

"Well, that was months ago, I actually forgot about her, really"

"Yeah, now that you have Gabby" Alex teased. Marty gave him an annoyed look. Really, Alex always had something to say. The albino felt as if a lift has rose from her shoulders. Oh, he forgot about her. Good, because he was hers now. Take that, Okapi! She rubbed her head against Marty's neck, causing him to smile at his friends. Now, all four were completely happy and with a partner.

Alex was with Gia, Melman with Gloria, Stefano and Catalina, and finally, him with his precious Gabby. The night couldn't get any better!

The gold lion rubbed his paws readily. "So, anyone up for a 'Second-place' celebration?" he piped. The rest of the animals cheered. "Good! 'Cause Bonfire's on the Penguins!"

"KABOOM!" Rico yelled, spitting out dynamite and lighting up a match.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Aww" the crazed Penguin pouted before taking the match out and caressing the still-intact dynamite in his flipper. Rico was indeed the weirdest penguin of them all. Skipper and the other penguins suddenly appeared, holding sticks and a huge bag of fresh Marshmallows. Chuckling, Skipper swallowed one he had gotten earlier, along with the rest of the Penguin squad. He swallowed one.

"Those tourists didn't see a thing!"

* * *

**This was a hefty one to write, three days to write if I did not want to stop and was determined to put it up. The next Chapter will be hard to get started on, honestly. More planning so everyone should not be bothering me with updating this story. Honestly, it's nice that you guys want me to continuously update, but it can also be quite hectic when I don't feel like it, and do not have the muse of it and people telling me to get to work and not to do anything else. I'm not a servant, nor a butler. Just to make that clear.**

**Also, I am going to be soon overloaded with homework but the Second Semester is always usually easier, if not a bit harder, that the first and the first went by like a breeze for me. Hopefully, I will still have time for this story as well as the others so have your fingers crossed! X3 I would like to thank everyone for reviewing and pushing me on, despite my muse not being what it used to be. I love your reviews and comments on the other details of the story that need updating!**

**I love you ALL! X3**


	33. Everyone's Perspective

**Okay. Here you guys go. The next Chapter. *Hides* I IS SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG I KNOW YOU ALL HAVE ASKED FOR IT AND HOPEFULLY THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL FOLLOW SOONER THAN THIS!**

**I do not own ANY MAD characters but my own and other people have theirs in here to and they belong to THEM!**

* * *

**Chapter XXXIII – Everyone's Perspective**

Deep sleep had indeed blessed her with a calm and clear mind that night, no thoughts about she-knew-who and who-knows-what to poison her mind as she slept. She was too tired to think and she thanked herself for being so. When she awoke, the thoughts came to her like a wave, splashing her in the face. Groaning, she fought to get up on her feet, her legs were too weak now, she was still so sleep.

A light whiff brought her to reality as she caught a very different scent from usual. Snapping her head to the side, which she immediately regretted as it made her head sting, she found the sleeping form of her white-maned soon-to-be-mate, Diamond. She appreciated his looks to be honest, he was indeed very handsome but things were not so great right now and more drama was the last thing she needed. Safi was still missing, her circus won third place (Which Kidogo is blaming _her_ for), and she was barely accepting Vitaly as a possible… gah! Things could never be as confusing as they are now.

Looking again to her side, she sees the smallest of smiles plastered on his face. She stared at Diamond for a while longer. What if things between her and Vitaly so not work out? What if Vitaly catches her and Diamond? What if it all blows up in her face? She is the one keeping secrets, she is the one not being completely honest… she hated being a leader. Why did she ever think it was so great anyways?

She sighed.

Maybe a small walk shall calm her nerves. Yes, a walk would do that, a bit of time for herself to just think. No schedule, no nagging, no responsibility, just walking by herself. She got up, this time with a better stance and stronger, more awake, legs and proceeded to take a morning stroll. Her tail passing by his nose, deep blue eyes opened, sighing softly and staring curiously at his fiancé leave.

Saffy's paws took her along the dirt path, to wherever it seemed that her feet felt comfortable in. She need not pay attention to whoever saw her or where she was going. All she wanted was time for herself to think and she would do just that. Think.

As she neared Duni's Hill, she sighed to herself. Where was Safi? How hard was it to find just one lioness in a Circus? She was more yellow than anyone; someone must have stolen her, but whom? Why Safi, though? Who could ever hold a grudge on her? She was fair, wise and kind. She never did anyone any harm. Who would have enough malice towards Safi to send her and her Circus to ruin? Or… maybe it was not Saffy they were after, maybe Saffy was some warning to tell someone to back off… what if they were after her?

She growled and struck the ground with her paw.

How dare they bring Safi into this! She had done no harm to anyone or anything! Everyone loved Safi!

But then there was Vitaly. How could she admit her feelings to the tiger when she still had Diamond on her back? How could she even tell Diamond that she thinks of another? How could she break it to him? But what if she admitted her feelings for Vitaly but he did not share her sentiment? What if Diamond treated her better than Vitaly? After all, he has not shown her any contempt or anger, just sweetness and charm.

Her mind wandered. Vitaly… He was handsome in a ruddy and rugged way; she admired that strong chin of his, no matter how big it was. He was strong and tough, no doubt, and the way he would look at her with his green orbs, it made her melt somewhat. Her tail wagged back and forth as she thought more of him. Yes, his eyes were the best part. Like some sort of emerald that had not been discovered in a millennia, showing off its shine, acting as if it was a diamond… Diamond.

She shook her head. She knew who she loved, the only thing was how to let Diamond off easy and how to best approach Vitaly with her assumed feelings and their obvious attraction. She wondered if it will work out in the end, with her luck, nothing will.

As she fumed in her own anger and confusion, Saffy had not realized the trail. She was so transfixed on her own misgivings; she had not realized her paws taking her along the familiar dirt path she would take whenever she and Iggy had the chance. The path to Zaragoza.

"Saffy! Wait up, dearest!" Diamond yelled as he ran after her. The tigress gasped and jumped in her place. Why was he here? Why did he follow her? And- wait, this path. Her eyes widened as she realized something- she had almost stepped foot in Zaragoza's border…

"D-Diamond? Who-what are you doing here?" she asked, trying to hide the fright in her voice.

"Following you! Where are young going to?" The tigress shrugged.

"I just woke up with a headache and decided to take a walk, I guess I was deep in thought and did not know how far I was from home" The white lion nodded, partly smiling. A bit of color had caught his eye and he spotted the tent that belonged to Zaragoza right behind Saffy.

"Who is that? A rival Cirque?" Saffy bit her lip.

"Ehmm… yes, we believe they stole our former leader, Safi, my mother"

"Ah, I am deeply sorry for your loss" Diamond pouted and proceeded to nuzzle his new mate before Saffy quickly dodged his advances and skipped away. If someone were to say she was nervous, well, Saffy would know that it was a big understatement.

"Well, we must be getting home, breakfast time is now and we must hurry if we want to get something nice to eat!" she trailed off, leaving Diamond to stare after her for a brief moment before sighing. He spared one last look at Zaragoza and eyed it. Her attitude was indeed suspicious. And why would her paws lead her here, out of every other place, why here? Well, he will do some digging before interrogating her, no need to bring suspicion upon him now. That would not be gentlemanly at all!

**0O0**

The Bonfire had lasted nearly all night, which left Vitaly slumbering almost two hours past his normal sleeping pattern. His eyes nearly screamed for him for five more minutes of dreams every time they opened and Vitaly could not help but agree. He needed some sleep. Sadly, it had not lasted as long as he had hoped as soon, his eyes were soon open but they did not close slowly nor did they send any message to sleep further.

He yawned, a loud roar emitting form his throat, and smacked his lips. He was hungry.

His mind wandered to the fresh memory of the show, a hundred lights, many animals, the stands filled with adoring crowds of humans, a dancing white tigress… He sighed. Alright, he was no longer going to pretend. He really did like Saffy. A lot. But did she like him? It was a question he could not be so sure of. Sure they had their… moments, but that never necessarily mean that she was into him.

She would always catch him looking at her, and he would turn away, embarrassed that he was staring at her so. Saffy, in all honesty, was a very fine looking tigress. The ideal female tigress was slim, strong, of both heart and mind and body. She was very slim, very witty and she had some anger issues but he can overlook that, he had deep trust issues and when you put the two together, well, mass chaos ensues… but he would not have it any other way.

Then another question came in mind: Matrimony. The last one he was in, it was not real, his mate betrayed him, and he was left in a rut for almost a full year before the zoosters had come. He bet if they had not shown up when they did, they would still be stuck in a rut, and he would never admit it, but he was in debt to them, mostly Alex. It was he who actually saved the Circus; it was he who had talked some sense into him, it was he who made all of this possible.

Curse that lion.

But then, his mind wandered into forbidden territory: Natalia. In a way, both she and Saffy shared a lot in common. Sure, Natalia was a Siberian, and Saffy was a Bengal, and their pelt colors were different, but they were both headstrong, attractive, and they both caught his attention like steak did to Alex.

Oh dam it all, they were alike but Natalia had left him for another, betrayed him behind his back, claiming to have done it to save his pain… would Saffy do the same? Before he could have thought more on the matter, he heard clicking of paws outside of his door. His ears perked upwards.

"Vitaly?" Gia called, "It's me, Gia! Alex and I were wondering if you would like to accompany us for breakfast. You always eat alone-a… we have fish and steak!" the sadness in her voice was easily detectable, and he could not find himself to refuse her. She was his little _sestra_ after all… He opened his cart door to see a grinning Jaguar on the other side; she squealed and hugged his neck, making the big tiger stumble backwards.

"Ah yay, Vitaly! Come to Alex's car! He has everything set-a" she grabbed his paw and literally dragged her adoptive brother throughout the Circus, which was barely coming back to life with the yawning of animals and the excitement of the day's first meal. The tiger huffed silently. He was not a morning animal, but breakfast was the best thing that sounded in his mind right now, the mornings were only good if they came with breakfast.

It was not long till they stood before Alex's car, a bit of fumbling and crashing coming from the inside. Gia's ears twitched; as did Vitaly's… something was clearly not right… To their surprise, the four penguins came rushing out, a bucket of fish in each of their flippers, and running away quickly. Alex came out, shaking his fist at them.

"Come back! That's MY breakfast!" Skipper turned, along with Rico pulling out a knife from who-knows-where. Skipper held his flipper up, telling Rico to wait, to which the scarred penguin moaned in disappointment. The leader of the black and white birdies merely smirked.

"Au contraire, my psychotic lion, its fish, and Penguins eat fish. Not lions"

"Why you-!" but before Alex could run after them, in a slip and slide, they disappeared. Alex merely looked at Gia and Vitaly, obviously embarrassed and ashamed.

"Uhm… no fish today but how's steak?" Gia smiled, she did not entirely mind that the Penguins had stolen almost half of their breakfast; she never really liked the taste of fish anyways! Vitaly could not help but smirk.

"You let little birdies get avay vith stealing food?" he teased, getting the Lion to sputter.

"Oh- I- wha- No- I-I didn't- D'OH!" Gia laughed and patted her boyfriend's back.

"It is alright Alex, maybe next time-a?" the lion sighed. He really wanted them to try this newest species of fish, what was it called-? Oh yeah! Red Snapper! He heard it was quite delicious! Ah well, maybe he could get the Penguins to partly share it the next time another delivery comes. All the while, he side stepped, beckoning the two Circus felines into his cart which he called home.

"Welcome to my humble abode!" Gia giggled. Vitaly rolled his eyes. As soon as they both entered the car, Vitaly noticed that Alex was kind of an OCD lion. Everything was perfectly neat, perfectly arranged, and so… clean! He felt like a pig when coming into the lion's car. Even his conditioner was in its own special place! The tiger's belled rumbled, and the red cat was quick to hide it away, he was hungry but the belly… that darn belly!

Alex was quick to serve the platters and the steak. Two for each, leftovers in case no one was full. He learned that, like him, the felines ate in their own car instead of outside. They wanted the animals to feel safer around them, so ate away from them. No need to remind them that each and every one of them was possible prey… especially Marty. Ha!

As he bit into his steak, Vitaly had thought about the old days, when only he, Natalia and Gia would eat together. Those days would be rowdy with lots of laughter, until the rut. Then Vitaly ate by himself. He never cared how alone Gia felt. He never even knew how she managed to cope with eating alone, after so many years of laughing while meals. He felt guilty for it.

"So, 'Taly, how about you and Saffy?" Gia questioned, making the Tiger choke on his piece of raw meat. Alex stared quietly at the two of them. He could not, though, slap the smile off his face. Gia had told him EVERYTHING. And with one look at the tiger, Vitaly knew that too. The lion said nothing, as he knew the meal would be his last if he did and merely kept on eating, but his ears high and listening.

The Tiger huffed, patting his chest from any of the bits that had fell from his mouth.

"Dere is nothing to talk 'bout" Gia kept on smiling.

"Yes there is. Tell-a!"

"_Nyet_"

"Please?"

"_Nyet_"

"Pretty please?"

"_Nyet_"

"But Vital-"

"_Nyet_. Nothing to talk about. Final" he turned his attention to Alex. "And next theme for show?" The lion bit his lip. If he followed the change of topic, Gia would give him the death glare, if he did not, Vitaly would string him. He hated being the middleman sometimes. He sighed as he saw that Gia had willingly let Vitaly change the topic. He cleared the throat.

"Uhh well, I've heard from the Penguins that they found that our next theme will be horror. Like y'know, scary stuff. We're supposed to scare the audience but not too badly, just enough where they get a bit of a fright but not run out and sue us" he chuckled lightly. Gia shook her head.

"Scare? But isn't that mean-a?"

"Not if humans cannot handle it"

"Vitaly!"

"It is true"

"But… if we are doing horror, then what are we going to do, Alex? Are we going to dress up like monsters or put scary paint?" Alex once again cleared his throat after he drank from his bowl.

"Well, I got nothing now, but rest assured that I will come up with something to get these humans to say _'WOW! THAT'S SCARY!'_" Gia clapped her paws together, while Alex gave her a light nip on her cheek. His own turned scarlet when he had realized that he and Gia were not alone in the cart… his face snapped to Vitaly who kept on eating his steak, as if nothing had happened. He lightly sighed in relief. So he did not mind… good, he guessed.

In truth, Vitaly had not seen the affection Alex had given her, he was too distracted by his own mind to even notice. He wondered if Saffy already knew of the theme… and if she was preparing the whole Circus right now… he knew it would be harder to see her now, he knew it, but he had no idea or reason why…

**0O0**

Melman was nervous. Nervous, Nervous, Nervous. Agitated. Jumpy. Skittish. Uptight. Any word that had "anxious" and "fearful" in his vocabulary. Today, the Penguins had asked for him, most likely to check on the diamond ring he had asked for days ago. He gulped as he spotted the four birds eating their Red Snapper _(Which he hears contains Ciguatoxin and can cause ciguatera)_ happily, their bellies evidently full and round.

He cleared his throat loudly, to alert them of his presence before they went ninja on him. He knew he could not afford a broken neck or a heart attack.

"So… how is it?" Private was the first to answer, as Kowalski was busy doing calculations, Rico busy flirting with his doll and Skipper merely staring at Melman, annoyed.

"Oh it's coming out shiningly! The diamond is almost ready! We just need a few days for more fabrication and it would be in tip top shape, mate!" he sang excitedly. Melman gasped and quickly hugged the small penguin. He then went to each and every one of them, shaking their flippers and hugging them _(Which scared the heck out of Skipper)_.

'Calm down, pencil neck" Skipper scoffed. "Calm down before you faint. I suggest you Skedaddle out of here before you lie on the ground" Melman, being a happy man that he was, took Skipper's sarcastic advice and left the scenery. A huge smile on his face! Now- to do Gloria's favorite breakfast as a celebration. Toast with jelly and with orchids on the side!

No sooner did the Giraffe leave, than did Rico's belly start to ring and rumble.

"Ehhhhh?" the scarred penguin mused as he rubbed his tummy. Skipper had gotten up and held out his flipper.

"Out Rico"

The penguin groaned and regurgitated a cellular phone. _(Where did Rico even GET one!?) _Skipper opened the cell and pressed the green button before answering.

"This is King Penguin, at your service! How can I help y-"

"Heed my warning, Mr. King Penguin, you are being watched. Beware of the spies who look after you at night, in the highest hills, in the tallest grass, in the darkest trees, you may not see them, but they are watching you" Skipper's (eyebrows?) furrowed in concern and suspicion.

"Who is this?" the other person hesitated answering.

"I cannot tell you my name, as it will ruin me, but I am a close friend of your Circus. If you shall want more clarification of who is writing down your every move- seek me at Duni's hill, near the borders of _Zaragoza_ and _Fantaisie_, at midnight exactly tonight" the other person then hung up, leaving Skipper to wrestle with the logics working in his mind. Finally he had given the cell to Rico, who greedily swallowed it, and spoke loudly.

"Men! Prepare for Duni's Hill tonight! We shall interrogate our tipper and find out if they are friend or foe!" after his little speech, the all slid away, leaving the Red Snapper in its last bucket.

**0O0**

Maurice rolled his eyes. Sonya had been snoring throughout the WHOLE night. Did anyone have any idea what it was like to sleep next to a snoring BEAR? Julien did not, it seemed, for the King of Lemurs softly mumbled in his sleep and cuddled next to his queen. Maurice did not see it really. He never did, and had decided to give up and understand King Julien's fascination of the large and smelly bear. Back at the tree, there were a lot of pretty females who gladly partied for Julien, to help him see they were the truest Queen of Party-goers. Maurice had indeed taken an interest in some but Julien would allow for no one to have a female unless he saw fit- not until he had his own Queen. Now Julien had his queen, but Maurice was left with nothing- no home, no mate, and always following his King's will, as if he was some slave. Which he was not but sometimes, he wondered why he never left, never escaped.

He just cared too much.

Sonya snored loudly once more, this time, more like a gurgling roar than anything else and Maurice held his head up in anger, as he did many times before. That was IT! He could not sleep a wink last night! He was determined to at least have five minutes- just _five minutes_! Mort had been clinging to Julien's legs the whole time, something the King had forgotten to mind and Maurice found no reason to disturb the small one, as he seemed perfectly comfortable in his situation.

Well, he would go out alone then!

He climbed up the boxes of Sonya's car and held on to the many ropes and wood sticking out to get to the open window at the top of the car, which was open thanks to Julien's tantrum of seeing the stars with his beloved and comparing them to her. It made Maurice's head dizzy.

He grabbed on to a small piece of wood, almost taking him there. All he needed to do was stick it in that opening- right there! Now- swing! And he jumped up, his tail providing balance as he landed outside, on the roof of the cars. Happily (and gladly) he closed the door to the car and clapped his hands to rid of the dust.

As he turned- his jaw hung open and his eyes widened.

In front of him, stood a petite, and mind he say beautiful, monkey. She had light brown fur, long legs and arms, pretty slick hair, and jewels hanging from her ears. She had her eyes closed, taking in the morning dew and cold air. He could not see the color of her eyes but even without them she was breathtaking. He coughed, trying to get her attention.

She gasped and turned her head, her eyes were gold.

"Oh my! I did not expect to see another here! I am deeply sorry for troubling your roof, good sir; I had just awoken from a nice nap after seeing your marvelous bonfire! I must return before they miss me!" she quickly jumped from the roof, making Maurice run after her. She better not have gotten herself hurt! He could not bear it!

To his relief, the female had no harm done to her, as she used the many equipment that hung from the side of the car to help her and guide her way down. She looked up, and, in seeing him, waved.

"Thank you for understanding good sir!" and she started to jump and cartwheel off. Maurice, not handling himself, called out-

"W-wait! Who are you? Will you come again?" the female paused and turned slowly, only enough that her upper half was facing him at an angle while her bottom had only edged a bit. She smiled while seeing Maurice's face.

"My name is Sol, and we shall hopefully meet again!"

She disappeared into the grass, leaving Maurice totally awestruck. He swore he understood how Julien felt. It was love at first sight.

* * *

**ALL HAIL THE END OF THE 33RD CHAPTER! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! And you all get to be introduced to a NEW character! Gosh! So many new new new! X3 Yes, Sol is awesome, and if you all are wondering, she is a Spider Monkey X3**

**And to answer some of your questions, yes this story is LONG. And you may complain but others are not, if you are and you have nothing productive or nice to say, get lost, no one wants a party pooper ;P**

**And I love you guys for cheering me on and basically DEMANDING me for a new Chapter! I really needed it! SO enjoy this new one! I hope you all find it to your liking! And who is this person who is giving the Penguins the tips? Special appearance? New Character? Safi? WAIT TO FIND OUT! X3**


	34. Quiet Truths

**Alrighty you guys. I planned five more chapters so the wait should not take so long, hopefully! ^^ I hope you guys enjoy this Chapter, i really wanted to explore how evil I wanted Diamond to be. he was just going to be an obstacle for Vitaly and Saffy but... I realized, he has WAY more potential as a possible villain or maybe something else that can make this story much more interesting. Anyways, again, I hope you like this chapter and I hope it's worth what you've been waiting for, and to make a note, I will always plan five chapters ahead of each chapter I post to make myself seem un-lazy and more motivated. I hope I can start writing the other chapters soon. More couple-lovin' and such! You won't be sorry! X3**

* * *

**Chapter XXXIV – Quiet Truths**

* * *

Saffy had tried every trick in the book to get away from him. Not that she didn't appreciate his good looks, or his charming persona, or his seemingly naïve and innocent way of pointing out the, uhm, _wrongs_ of a person. Each and every time, she would come up with the excuse that first came to mind, and she'd use it no matter how ridiculous it sounded. She honestly did not want to spend and time with him, worried that he would be too close to allow her to visit Zaragoza. So far, they have done all they can to find her mother, here, it was as if no one even _missed_ her. This upset her but she would never tell anyone, not even Rita, she'd just give her false hope. She couldn't even tell Iggy, poor cub would be too saddened. Forget Kidogo. She was not going to open up to someone like him. He would never understand.

Besides, if she told him, she would have to reveal how she felt about Vitaly. Alright, there was no lie, no excuse; she was completely enamored with the red tiger. He saw sides of him she never knew she had, and a part of him his friends had not seen before. He was a flirt when he wanted to be, a real gentleman though she noticed he seemed to be held back. By what, she did not know, and she wanted to find out why. She wanted to see him again, to hear that stupid accent of his and assure her that everything will be okay, just like he did the last time. He assured her that she would do fine, and though she would not want to admit it at the time, it really helped her.

Sure, they did not get first or second place, but they still had a good lead in the competition and they could make it up easily. No matter how much Saffy wanted to ignore her duty as the leader and go pay visits to Zaragoza, she promised to double her shifts. She would work twice as hard to get them back on top, at least up to second place and beat Zaragoza as Kidogo wanted her to. But then, there was something else too… Her eyes wandered to the back where she saw her soon-to-be-mate Diamond look at himself in the mirror. He spread his claws over his mane to give it a nice brushing, licking and running it over his mane. Some of the females stopped to watch him and they would squeal with pleasure when he would catch them staring and wink.

He had only been here for a day and already he's stealing the hearts of many of the girls. She had already caught some of her closest feline friends which included Mia and Tia, the twin Lionesses and the tiger triplets, Phoebe, Roxxie and Trixie, talking behind her back at how they were so jealous that Diamond was to be HER mate. According to them, she did not have the beauty, flare or grace that they had to earn his love. He only made the situation worse when they offered themselves to him and he replied saying that he was only interested in HER.

They kicked her out of the circle since but Saffy didn't care, they could have him, she wanted Vitaly. Only him and no one else.

Diamond, however, was having the time of his life. The humans practically pampered him and groomed him to perfection each day in the hopes that soon there will be new white liger cubs running around. He wasn't too excited at the fact that he would be there to see his cubs as he never got to see any others but at least two of them, but he perked up when he realized that he would be Saffy's FIRST and that she was the LEADER of the Circus at this point. That proved a vital advantage at this point. He could be mate to the leader and his spawn would be the leaders. It was too perfect and though she wasn't exactly stunning or beautiful, merely pretty, he would refuse any advancements from the other- more attractive, felines who gladly offered themselves but he stuck to the possibility and refused to mate them. He would not give himself a bad rep because his new mate wasn't pretty. Who cared when HE was pretty, and his cubs would be the leaders? Possibly even him?

For now, the tigress looked to be nervous around him and would avoid any contact or any chance of being alone with him. He was annoyed that she was alluding to his plans but Diamond figured she was just nervous. It WAS her first time and he did not want to pressure her- not yet. So as he lay bored around the tent, watching the other animals do their work, he just stayed in the company of other felines. He watched as they practiced, ogling at every single one of them. When they were done, he was soon surrounded by most of them, sharing stories and answering questions.

As far as they knew, he was a rare white prince born in Africa, stolen by poachers and made his way up in the world by saving the life of cubs and humans alike. According to the lionesses and the tigresses, he was a hero. He lavished on their attention and "gifts", though he had not realized there was only one lioness that refused to succumb to his barbaric and ungentlemanly behavior.

Rita fumed in the corner, sitting with Sandra, who had been bathing Seymour and Alaine and who held thoughts similar to Rita about the new lion. Iggy was with Saffy, which spiraled no problem to her so she said nothing of it. Seymour and Alaine were ordered by their mother to take a nap. They've had much time to play and needed rest. Once she was sure they were asleep, Sandra frowned at the way Diamond took in all the attention from the felines. She scowled.

"Humph. I've never see such a spectacle. You don't reckon Saffy actually wants to _mate _him, do you? He'd get another girl, or a couple of them, with cubs as soon as he's done with her. Just look at him!" Sandra pointed with her head over to a lioness that was so close to Diamond, he decided to put a paw on hers and wink at her suggestively. Rita fumed.

"I do not agree he should mate Saffy. I don't like him. He ruin her" Sandra nodded and sighed.

"Well, nuthin' we c'n do about it now" the lioness sighed. "We c'n warn her-"

"Or warn him" Rita spat. The lioness seemed to shake.

"Rita, think about it. He's a male, a healthy one, and with that kind of back up? You don't think the gals will be over you but with claws and fangs? Ha! Best just wait till he's alone, the girls gotta eat some time! They've all given their snacks to him!" The Russian lioness sighed to herself. Sandra was right. These girls were mean as hell to anyone they felt was a threat and when it came to males, they were like female human secretaries: brutal, mean, and very dangerous.

So when luck came and when Sandra's earlier prediction came through and all the lionesses went to have their lunch, not joined by Diamond who was completely full at the time, Rita made her move. She was not going to have this male pouncing on every female he saw. He belonged to Saffy! And yet- she was contradicting herself. She knew the tigress liked Vitaly, and keeping Diamond loyal to her would only sharpen the knife. Still, he shouldn't be acting like that; it was so disrespectful, especially to a female.

"You. Boy" she snarled. The white lion looked up from his tasty scraps to look at her and eye her for a bit. He shrugged and patted his side.

"I guess you're good-looking enough to talk to me" he purred as he bit into a bone. Rita could barely control her rage. How pompous was this lion? He was a complete utter and arrogant jerk!

"You should not be talking to females like dat! It is disrespectful! You are going to marry Saffy and she no gonna like it if-"

"FYI, lioness, what I do on my spare time is no concern of yours. And what Saffy may think is up to her but I am not doing anything wrong. I am not mating these girls; I am only talking to them. They make it seem like a big deal only because they are too stupid to realize that I am already spoken for. It is them you should be talking to, I have no interest in them. Mind your own business, you old hag"

Rita looked at him wide-eyed. How DARE he!? Insult her like that and insult the very feline's she had seen, helped and worked alongside her whole life and stay at Fantaisie!? And she did NOT look THAT old!

"I am no old hag! Bum! I am only seven years old!" Rita felt like whacking him with her paw. It was the most logical thing to do at the time but his reaction is what had stopped her from doing so. The white lion's eyes widened. He had gotten up from his scraps and had walked closer to her, eyeing her as if she was precious lion-treasure. Rita merely kept her head up and eyes closed. He did not deserve to look her in the eye… what was he doing? She opened them to reveal the lion rubbing his mane against her flanks.

"A beauty you are! A young and fresh lioness that has wisdom way beyond her years! An extraordinary find you are!" Rita, at first, felt charmed by how he had described her… but she also remembered him called her old. He was just flirting with her… wait- FLIRTING!? She growled and tried to swipe at him.

"Disgusting! I no have time to waste on you! You no deserve Saffy! And before you hurt her, I vill tell!" The lion, his beautiful visage once clouded with smiles and charms had disappeared into one of nervousness and a very questionable glint in his eye.

"You will do no such thing… _Rita_" the lion hissed at her. This caught the lioness's attention. She turned her head, shocked to know that the lion had known her name when they had not talked or had any eye contact before this conversation. She watched as the lion smirked nastily as he walked towards the form of the sleeping cubs. The lionesses eyes widened in horror.

'_H-He wouldn't… surely, he wouldn't…' _she whispered to herself as one of his paws came over the head of Alaine as she slept with a smile on her face.

"Well, if I was you, I would rather save the life, or rather _lives_, of these two little darlings wouldn't I?" The lioness glared.

"I would not know I am not you" the lion smiled nastily.

"Oh but of _course_! That is why YOU must make the decisions. This pathetic incident which you can tell to my fiancé or these two little ones" he held his paws over them both, emphasizing his point. The lioness merely snarled and felt her tail lash violently as she felt the dangerousness of the situation and of this male. He was more than just a rude pretty face- he was a villain. The lion merely giggled in his own sick way.

"Ah ah ah, Rita! Remember, any rude gestures or sudden movements and these kiddos go bye bye!" the lioness growled.

"If I promise to not tell Saffy, do you promise not to hurt these cubs?" Diamond looked boredly at his paws and then looking at Rita with an expression that told her: _"Duh"_. She hesitated. She didn't want the likes of him running around; acting like that around the females but… these cubs… they were more important. Hopefully Sandra will voice her opinions to Saffy, and when Saffy questions her… well, hopefully she could figure it out… hopefully.

She sighed sadly. "I promise not to tell her in exchange for you not hurting the cubs" Diamond had removed his paws away and walked off in the opposite direction.

"Nice doing business with you, dear Rita" he said smugly as he disappeared out of the tent. Rita snarled in his direction before she stood over the cubs, examining them for marks she had not seen Diamond put. If they were hurt she swore she will- "Kill you" she snarled.

She found no marks on the cubs; her movement had caused Alaine to wake up sleepily. "Aunty Rita? What's wrong?" the cub yawned. Rita feigned the murderous glance for something warm and sweet.

"There is nothing wrong Alaine, now go back to sleep little one" she coaxed and the cub did as she was told, curling back into her little ball. As soon as Rita heard the cub sleeping again and the other felines coming in from their lunch to practice some more, Rita said nothing more. Not even to Sandra… she barely even noticed Diamond come back into the tent, asking for Saffy. No one knew where she was, which made him frown and he glimpsed at Rita. She said nothing, cuddling near the cubs and their mother who did not notice the glare and death between the two lions. Rita could only hope, as she watched Diamond once again interact with the felines, that Saffy would see his faults and fall for no such male.

**0O0**

Blue eyes glanced up at the sky as it turned from its orange sunset color to a purple gradient in the sky. She finally took rest form her practice outside the tent with no one but Kidogo who kept her company. He had not been inside, determined to see the tigress keep her promise to work twice as hard with double shifts. She had no break like everyone else, he was surprised she could last as long as she did. The tigress was always used to always having breaks but he never knew that Saffy had done this type of practice hundreds of times when she was younger, in order to impress Saffy and her friends.

She sighed to herself. Kidogo had disappeared to who knows where so it was just her, her half-eaten lunch and her bowl of water which was soon need of refilling. She roared loud enough for the humans to hear but enough to not draw attention to her. She wanted to see no one. Not even Rita, she had time to think now and she needed this time for herself. She made her decision between Vitaly and Diamond and she still vouched for the tiger, but how would she handle Diamond? Everyone expected for cubs from her soon… damn it all.

She looked up to see the faraway tent of Zaragoza. How she longed to be with Vitaly now, spending all that time with him had made her realized how much she fell for the tiger. She had not known it then, but she knew it now that she was away from his gaze, from his beautiful green eyes. She cursed her luck. She never knew she would fall in love or even find a suitable male to be her mate, and now she found one worthy enough for her, and she knew she was worthy of him… only for him to be a rival in her Circus… and to be the main suspect in the kidnapping of her mother.

She wanted to see him despite all the troubles; she knew he and his Circus were not responsible of her mother's kidnapping; they did not have the heart or the drive to do so. At first, it was just a doubt but after a while, she just knew they were not responsible. But now was the time to make a big decision. She wanted to see Vitaly, very badly and she did not want to share another night with Diamond. Once was enough, he tried to pry her away from the others in a separate room and only Kidogo and Rita managed to save her and get her to sleep close to them. She preferred to sleep almost in the middle of the two, causing great confusion from the white lion but he merely shrugged and slept near other felines who shrieked with joy at him being so close.

But that incident was beside the point. She wanted to see Vitaly again but… should she go? During the night when she was supposed to be going to sleep? Did she want to risk sleeping over at Zaragoza and waking early to run all the way over here in order to not get caught? Should she risk it? To see him? She laid her head down, sighing to herself and thinking of what her next move should be until she felt a strange sensation on the tip of her tail. She felt as if someone was pouncing or trying to at least onto her appendage and she knew of only one person who dared play with her tail.

With one swift move, she whipped her tail to the side, and hearing a small yelp before a thud behind her. She smirked to herself. Oh Iggy. "Hey kiddo, you know how I feel about you playing with my tail. How many times do I have to say it?" Iggy held his muzzle with his paw, rubbing his nose.

"Can't resist… must play with tail…" he responded, holding his other paw out towards the tail. Saffy merely smiled before looking up at the sky, already turning dark blue and the constellations of the stars coming out in full view, unaffected by the pollution of the nearby city. She had not seen Iggy come from behind her to make himself comfortable in between her paws. She did not tell him to go away or to sleep inside the tent… rather… She looked up at the sky once more. Iggy had never slept outside the tent; this would be his first time. She did not want to ruin that for him… and she did not want him to go away. She needed him now, she was her only tie left for Safi. And he was a brother to her; she did not want him to feel as if his sister was trying to get him to go away or to feel as if she did not care for him because she really did.

Iggy and Saffy had stood silent throughout the time as the sky went from blue to dark blue in a matter of minutes. Stars enveloped the sky, the moon as at its fullest, showing off its shine in the sky. She could not help but smile as the wind blew symbolically with the scenery. She felt the cub rub his nose against her chest, and she heard small sniffing.

Her head snapped down to see the cub with watery eyes, also looking up at the sky. Seeing that his sister was now staring at him, the cub wiped his tears. The tigress did not know what to make of it. She never saw Iggy cry. It was one of those things that just wasn't… normal.

"Saffy?" he sniffed silently. Saffy acknowledged him by laying her head next to his body on her paws. "Did… did mom… was she angry at me?"

Saffy frowned. "Why would she be mad at you, Iggy? She never got mad at you… well, unless you forgot to ask for her permission but… she never really got mad at y-"

"Not like that sis" the cub sniffed again. "Did she hate me?" Saffy stared at the young cub with nothing more than shock. What… what… huh?

"Iggy" she gasped. "Why… why would you ask something like that? Your mother never hated you. She loved you. Why would you ask such a thing?" the cub was silent. He refused to answer her, Saffy could feel it, otherwise he would have not looked so nervous and confused or scared to tell her. He finally sighed.

"Well… mom has been gone for so long… and we don't have any leads… no one is looking for her… did she just run away? Doesn't she love me anymore? Is that why she's gone? Saffy?" the tigress merely stared at the cub with wide eyes. She had not known. He managed to build that idea up? How could he? Sure his mother was not there, and she knew that no one made an attempt to find her, they were more worried about losing their place which they've already had but thing was: Safi was still nowhere to be found. And no one was making a commitment to find her.

She had not noticed that the tears had started to run down his face and he was sobbing into her chest. Saffy furrowed her brows. "No" she said. The cub looked up, puffy-faced.

"Huh?"

"No way Safi would never leave you. She would never leave me, or this circus. Especially you. You are her son, her beautiful child, Iggy. What makes you think your mother ran away? She is the bravest most ideological lioness I have ever met and I know she would not run away. If she did, I promise you, you would be the first person she would take, because she loves you. Iggy, she would never in her right mind leave you…" the cub sniffed once more and eyed the tigress, his sad eyes haunting her on the spot.

Iggy just did not cry. A small smile appeared on his face. "Thanks Saffy… I wasn't sure that I was wrong… no one is looking for mom and I thought she must have told everyone where she's at… and… well… I just thought she left me… but if you think that she would never have left without me… I believe you… thanks sis" the cub smiled as he nuzzled his sister's chest. Saffy smiled. She wanted to mentally sigh and pat herself on the back. The cub managed to be convinced that his mother did not leave him purposely… she hoped she was right.

The two stood outside for a while, talking and sharing their ideas. It was not long before the sky was completely black, only illuminated by the full moon and her stars, along with the symphony of snoring the young cub between her paws composed.

A shadow appeared from inside the tent, making her gasp and jump. Kidogo. Her face flushed.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked. The older lion made no move to answer her. His brown eyes merely stared at the two. "Did you… did you hear everything?"

"I will admit that I did. Most of it, actually" he looked down on the ground, partially ashamed as if he hated admitting that he was listening into their conversation. Saffy merely reacted by growling at him.

"I didn't know you liked listening on conversations that did not involve you, Kidogo" she shifted uneasily; Iggy's sleeping form laying all over her front. The lion merely frowned at her statement. He did not expect Saffy to still have a bit of fire in her, especially so late at night.

"I don't. Even so, you should sleep. You need to practice more tomorrow. The new theme is horror so we need to brainstorm and come up with routines and a song." The brown-stripped feline merely glared at the lion before growling something barely audible. The lion stood in his place, eyeing the tigress as she made herself and the cub comfortable in their place.

"Are you not going inside?"

"No" she immediately answered. "I… I want to stay out here for the night. Iggy has never slept outside before…" the lion kept his frown.

"You know well of the dangers that lay if you stay outside-"

"Yes. Don't worry. I'll try to stay awake as long as possible. I'll roar if anything happens ok?" the lion was still unsure of leaving the new leader and the heir of the Circus outside where their mother was once caught but… he looked again at the pair. He sighed. He watched as the tigress maneuvered around the cub, how she cared for him and made sure he was as comfortable as can be. Just like a….

"You'll be a good mother" he said quietly before completely disappearing behind the drapes of the tent, leaving Saffy gawping after him.

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**So now you guys can get a bit more on our favorite OC Circus XD Yes. Diamond is a real meanie isn't he? I bet you guys hate him. I betting there will be more of his planning soon. Yes, this chapter is a bit more... _suggestive_, a proper word for it but I had to put that tid bit of Dia and the other gals in there to let you guys know that he's used to female attention and he is only bought for MATING so he WILL be a bit... seductive, and trust me, you'll see a lot of it later on but right now is just a scratch of the surface. He has much more waiting for you guys to see. Lol!**

**And poor Iggy, missing his mum so much he's starting to think she ran away because she hates him. And Saffy... she is in lurvs with Vitaly isn't she? Should I create a chapter just for them two? XD They will, eventually but sadly not in the third contest, they'll just be missing each other... for now XD OOOh! And foreshadowing!? What is this!? **

**Hope you guys enjoy!**


	35. Lion Lore

**Alrighty guys! Here's the next Chapter! I am deeply sorry, I honestly thought it would take faster this time, but at least it's here, and I gave you guys a super surprise here! X3 **

**And I also want to thank you all for reviewing and loving this story as much as you do, I never thought that this story will get so popular. I blmae the late Chapter on life. At least it's summer, then you guys have me all to yourselves for two whole months XD**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Madagascar or it's Characters, those rights belong to DreamWorks. The only Characters I own are most of the OC's, and other OC's belong to other writers, I only take credit for the story, the character roles and the plot. Thanks for reading!**

**For everyone who says my fic should be a movie, it'd be a pretty long ass movie XD Just _saiyan_! X'D**

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**Chapter XXXV – Lion Lore**

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The spotted feline yawned quite loudly, almost roaring in the process. Smacking her lips, her head swirled in the fact that a yawn like that meant that her sleep was full, rested, and that meant for a day's full of workout, practice and-

_SNORE_.

The Jaguar flinched a bit as a roar-like yawn sounded next to her. She turned her head only to laugh as the Lion next to her snored once more, his mouth halfway open, his tongue sticking out, and his thumb right out in front of him. She had been more than surprised when she learned that he still sucked his thumb. It was cute, but sadly, Alex thought it was too embarrassing to share with her, and practically begged her not to say anything about it to anyone… _especially_ not Vitaly.

And for good reason, the Tiger, she knew, would not hesitate to pester him and tease him about it, poor boy. She giggled lightly at the reminder of his panicked face and the way he held his paws together frantically. She agreed to do so, just because she had gotten a kick of watching his on his knees. He was so cute sometimes.

Gia had taken another good look at the lion. So much, other than the thumb-incident, was running through her head when she took a good, long look at her boyfriend. She couldn't exactly call him her "mate" yet. They weren't that deep into their relationship, it had pretty much already been established since New York but neither she nor Alex had actually voiced it. They were pretty much more than dating right now. They weren't mates, but neither were they together just because, they were… it was complicated.

She sighed and got up from her cushion placed next to his. When Alex had "moved in", he and the Zoosters had gotten the Penguins to completely remake the Train's inner décor. Walls were painted, gears were changed, rooms were redecorated, and their old hammocks were exchanged for soft, clouds of cushion of many colors. She had chosen the most pinkish, girlish and comfortable pillow and blanket to sleep on.

The color was close to Hot Pink, with cute little red roses and cute pink hearts engraved in its fabric. She rubbed her muzzle onto the soft material and sighed. Alex… he was the best thing, she admitted, that ever happened to her. Admittingly, he was the best thing that ever happened to the Circus. Sure he was a bit awkward at first, and despite lying to her all that time, most of what she had seen of him was his true self. He had only lied about where they were from, not who they were. They never made an attempt to hide their true selves from them, not at all.

Though, after it all, she had realized something was… well, she could not explain it. After the Zoosters had joined them, her relationship with Alex seemed to basically blossom, heal and become something more than just friends. She had realized that a little while after their battle with DuBois. She did not realize how lucky she would be, she never thought that Alex, as handsome as he was, would fall for someone like her. She was a Circus-loon, she loved doing her thing and Alex, well, he was basically a _King_, technically a Prince he also had told her. She dated a _prince_. She never thought that something so fairytale and so dreamy would happen to her in real life.

As a small cub, she would only talk of such things with her friends while having sleep overs in each other's cars. She would gossip nonstop about how a handsome Prince will come to take one of them away to his kingdom and become a Princess- No, a _Queen_. She and her friends giggled crazily, whispering about having 10 cubs, mostly girls, and how they would be such pretty and fashionable young ladies and how their sons would be strong, young and handsome young males.

She laughed.

Another snore from Alex and she covered her muzzle with her paw, she did not want to wake up her beloved… She paused. Looking back at Alex, Gia started to think once again, though not of what Alex and she share, she already expressed that. What she thought about was their future. Did they really have a future together? Thinking, she had seen Melman and Gloria react to one another. They were so mushy and Melman was such a sweetie. She would have loved for someone to give her gifts all the time, but Melman's character was not right for her. And the way Marty acted with Gabby, he comforted her and told her very sweet things but she didn't need someone to always badger her on how pretty she was.

Alex was just perfect. He wasn't too mushy, and he didn't her too much, she needed her own space and he gave her just that, all the while being faithful to her. The incident with Grace proved it. He was just too naïve and too good-hearted to even think about doing such a thing. Besides, those looks he gave her whenever they shared a secret laugh or joke just made her cheeks heat up.

She scooted closer to her boyfriend and nuzzled him.

Amazing that it was _that _particular motion that had caused him to open those luminous blue eyes. One look at the spotted beauty and a small smile formed on the lion's muzzle, causing her cheeks to flush. After a loud and roaring yawn, the sleepy maned male had stretched, allowing for his girlfriend to finally be able to speak to him.

"So, how was your sleep?" she asked, waiting for the male's response. Alex smiled.

"Great whenever I'm next to you" he purred. The spotted cat giggled loudly and put a paw over her muzzle, trying to hide her reddened cheeks. Alex smiled, laughing. He found this behavior from Gia sort of… cute. Not wanting to let the moment fade, Alex nuzzled her, his muzzle hugging her lovingly at her shoulders. Gia responded by rubbing her head on his soft, glossy mane. It was rare for the two to share loving moments like this.

Gia felt something on her cheek, a light touch, though rough and wet. Alex smiled and licked her cheek once more, causing the Jaguar to turn tomato red and caused her eyes to widen. Alex did not think much; as he was too busy blushing himself.

He looked back at the feline, watching her eyes for any sign of… something. He watched curiously as her gold eyes sparked with intensity, but wha-

She pounced onto him, causing the two felines to fall back onto the cart. The violent push had caused some of the towels that hung above them (Elegantly marked "_G and A_") to fall onto them. Alex laughed along with Gia who enjoyed the sudden adrenaline and excitement in just one swift push. She had gotten off her boyfriend and allowed for him to get up and sit on his knees.

"Alex" Gia gasped, her face not quite as red but an evident blush still on her cheeks, Alex beckoned forward to her, scooting close enough so their noses almost touched.

"Yeah?" he told her, sudden curiousness and worry clouding his thoughts. Had he done something wrong? Had she? Gold eyes eyed him, at first unsure and then, positively confident.

"I- I love you Alex. You have no idea how much I do. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me, and you've changed my life in ways I could never imagine. You-" a paw had stopped her form continuing. A puzzled Gia found herself being suffocated alive by fluffy brown arms.

"Eeeeeek!" she yelled, falling back. Alex merely laughed and started to give a speech of his own.

"I love you too Gia! Ever since I've first saw you, I just knew there was something special! You're the only cat I would choose to spend the rest of my life with! I would do anything for you Gia! You just say and I will- Gia?" the lion paused as he watched the smaller, skinnier, female cover her eyes with her paws. He heard her sniffing, was she crying? Vitaly would kill him!

Gia looked back up at him, smiling. She wiped the small tears that formed in her eyes and held Alex's face in her small paws. The lion merely smiled back. A moment of silence filled the air, until Gia closed her eyes. Alex furrowed his brown curiously until he realized she was pulling him! No way! REALLY? Were they really-?

She parted her lips, him following her lead. He closed his eyes when he felt her minty breath through his nose. Finally. _Finally_. They would have their kiss, with no interruptions, just peace, quiet and them. He felt her lips on his.

"Alex" she heard him say. He smiled.

"_Alex_" he heard her say again. Oh the way she said his name sounded so sweet to his ears.

"Alex I know you've had a long sleep but if you don't wake up right now, your steak will be in _my_ tummy in the next 20 minutes!" Wait. _What_? He opened his eyes groggily, trying to exactly pin point what the heck happened. They were _kissing_, how could he be asleep? Alex was now almost fully awake and Gia towered over him, smiling.

"Get up, sleepy head" the Jaguar giggled, flicking his nose with a paw. "I'll get my food now since you look like you don't want to get up" she giggled, "I'll meet you back here, okay?" she called to him sweetly and disappeared behind the doors of their Car, leaving Alex quite flummoxed in his situation. Standing up, the lion assessed the situation. The towels were still in place, as if they had never moved, their cushions were not messed up for look like they had been thrown to the other side. He could not explain why, it was so real and yet… Then it hit him.

He had been _dreaming_.

He had gotten out of the car, in a foul mood. He was only _dreaming_. It was as if heaven itself was trying to toy with him and even ruin a kiss with Gia in his _dreams_. He mumbled harshly to himself, not noticing that the other animals were awakening as well, coming out of their cars yawning and talking about their own weird dreams. Apparently, everyone had a great sleep. It did not take long for him to see his spotted girlfriend, hopping towards him with a fish in her mouth.

He could not help but crack a smile. After the Penguins had stolen their breakfast yesterday, he stole their lunch, and gave Gia Red Snapper. She could not help but love it and get it whenever she could now, even if it meant crossing the Penguins.

"Hi Awex" she mumbled with the Snapper still in her mouth. "Wamma hab shome?" she tried to speak. Alex smiled at her and was about to answer until that very question struck a chord deep in his memory. The faint image of his mother when he was still in Africa came and he literally froze in his tracks. Gia was still waiting for an answer and merely raised an eyebrow when she saw that Alex had not responded. He loved Snapper.

Florrie, Alex's mother and Queen of the African Reserve Pride, or the _Kibwana_ Pride, had educated him in both simple and complicated matters of lion lore and laws that should be followed by lions in order to be part of the pride, if they wish to be, or remain a rogue. She had taught him many things, and he followed each as best as he could. Instead of the one that said that males were to fight off intruders, he didn't like fighting that much, dancing was very much better for him. However, he remembered one such lesson: Matrimony.

"_One day, Alakay" his mother said smiling, "You will take a mate and you both must follow certain rules and laws in order to make the marriage secure and legitimate" Alex merely rolled his eyes. He wasn't the best student, he admitted. _

"_Laws this, rules that" he complained. "Why can't you guys just take a break and just do things normally?" His mother rolled her eyes. So that's where he got it from._

"_Do not be silly, Alakay. We are not humans, our customs and beliefs are different. We follow these rules because it is tradition and it has not failed us yet, it is a good way for families from each side to see what the other has to offer, and me and your father are concerned that since you are not familiar to the customs, the younger lioness will take advantage of that" the lion frowned._

"_So by following these dumb rules, you guys can ensure that my… mate, isn't, what, A Mekunga female-style?" Florrie could not help but crack a smile._

"_Yes, exactly"_

"_That's…" Alex tried to come up with a word for it but it seemed that Florrie was not going to let her son interrupt again._

"_Hush now, you must learn each of these steps, it's crucial to your future. Now, if you want someone, or that someone wants you, the traditional and most logical way to show them what you can offer or how healthy you are is to hunt" the blue-eyed lion remained quiet. He could not hunt to save his life. "Now it can be from an animal you have killed or found while scouring the borders, but when food is presented by a lion, and the two of them are interested in each other, then it is a form of engagement. If the food is eaten, the proposal is accepted, but if the one receiving the gift refuses, there is no proposal and both lions are free to other proposals"_

"_That's a bit confusing Ma" Alex groaned. Florrie merely laughed._

"_That's Lion Lore, my son"_

Alex looked back at the fish, still dangling in Gia's mouth and getting cold. If he accepted the fish, he and Gia would be engaged. In technical lion terms, of course, but engaged and how would she feel about that? Did she even love him as his dream might have suggested or was that his inner fantasy. He thought for a bit. Yep, most likely fantasy.

"Eh, no thanks, Gia. You keep that Snapper, I'll, uh, get my own. Thanks anyways" he hurried off to where the food was being given from, leaving Gia to wonder why Alex was being so moody… and strange. She eyed the fish. Was it the Snapper? Her tongue tasted the scales on said fish and shrugged. Nah. It was just Alex. Red Snapper was too delicious to make people crazy.

0O0

Oh crap, what had he done? He just blew her off, with no explanation! Nada! Just said "No thanks" and left. He just _LEFT_ her side as quickly as he could. He just hoped that he did not offend her, it wasn't that he didn't want to marry her, he just was not comfortable in the knowledge that he had and Gia's ignorance of Lion Laws... He grumbled to himself.

"Thanks ma, you really came through for me this time" his plight, however, did not go unnoticed by some of the Circus animals, especially by a certain Zebra.

"Yo, Alex!" Marty called from afar. He had seen the whole thing. Not that he was spying, he was just taking a sip of water in a bucket, but he had seen Gia giving her fish to Alex, he had thought that the lion would be all for sharing a meal with the pretty feline, but he had said "No". This left the Zebra a bit with a mouth handing open. "Why'd ya blow her off? I thought you always wanted to be close to her, I mean yeah it was one fish but I coulda sworn-"

"It's nothing like that Marty, I would have but…" the lion sighed. "My parents made sure that before I could leave Africa with the Penguins to install lion laws of the pride into my brain. One of them had to do with, uhm, marrying and what Gia just did… it's hard to explain"

"I'm listenin'" the Zebra said, sitting down and chowing down on the Kentucky Blue Grass he had gotten just before he had seen Alex and Gia. The lion smiled a bit before starting to explain. Marty listened attentively as Alex explained all the steps about proposing, the gifts, the blessing, the ceremony, the rituals needed to make a couple one under the Pride's watch. Marty also listened to Alex as the lion explained each and every detail that needed to be accounted for and ignored to make a marriage legitimate. The Stallion furrowed his brow as Alex started to explain how blessings went; it was always the first step in _preparing_ for a proposal.

After the lion had finished his lecture, the rest of the animals were right to work, though they had no idea what to work on so they just did what they did and tried to come up with ideas. Marty shook his head, his mind filled with laws and ideas that made his brain hurt.

"Man, I never knew your parents were so strict about rituals and traditions and stuff"

"Really Marty? What did the arena tell you?"

"That you guys are reenacting that arena we saw in Rome"

"That's tradition too, Marty"

"Then my whole life's been a lie!" the Zebra exclaimed, smiling crazily. Alex could not help but laugh out loud. "But seriously, they are so complicated!"

"Yeah" the lion agreed. The two friends stood quiet with one another's company before Marty decided to ask the big question.

"Do you want to marry Gia?"

0O0

Nothing could drive a tiger more crazy that his own mind. Vitaly had learned that the hard way when he lost Natalia, and now, he felt as if that same feeling was coming back but he didn't lose Saffy, he just was not seeing her. He missed her. It has been days now, they had always been here at least once every two days for at least a few hours and they would go back. That seemed enough for him but now that he had not smelt her scent or seen her gorgeous orbs (Yes, he was obliged to call those eyes of her "gorgeous" now) for more than five days. Things just went on and with Alex not having a plan for the next Act, no one really did anything but practice their old acts.

Where was she anyways? Did she just decide not to visit anymore? No, impossible, Iggy would not allow for that. There had to be something else. Maybe that old lion, Kitobo or something like that, was keeping her from coming. He snarled. That conniving old lion! Wait until he saw him again! But wouldn't Rita keep him from finding out? That's why she stayed, to keep Kidogo busy, however she could.

It was amazing, really. That white lioness could basically do anything if she put her mind to it. He frowned. Then what exactly was the reason that Saffy wasn't coming? He stopped in his tracks, a sudden realization hitting him. One that he hoped would not be caused again. What if… what If Saffy had not been coming if she had a lover? She never said she was single, or that she was mated. What if… she already was? He paled.

"Do you want to marry Gia?" someone had asked, a familiar voice had asked. That alone had made him forget Saffy and instead go to the direction to where the voice came from.

"I don't know Marty, I mean, if I had accepted the fish, she wouldn't have known that we were engaged! And proposing involves knowledge of the tradition and lore of both male and female. Each has their own part and proposing needs participation of both in order for it to work. Besides, I would have skipped a step or two"

Vitaly did not need an invitation to enter this conversation. If it involved Gia, it would involve him too. He did not care if Gia was not a cub anymore, this lion was a part of her life and so was he, but this lion was going to court his little _sestra_. He at least needed to know what this lion had in mind for Gia.

Marty had seen him before Alex had scented him, and the Stallion merely gulped nervously. Cripes. Alex had stopped talking and instead, stared at Marty. The scent of conditioner, olive oil along with flame and sweat reached his nose and he realized why Marty looked so pale even if his coat was white to begin with. The lion turned to see the tall, red tiger towering over him like a black thunderstorm. He chuckled sheepishly.

"Hi" Vitaly ignored the greeting and instead went straight to the point.

"You plan to marry Gia?" he commanded, rather than asked. Alex gulped but managed to stand his ground.

"I-I'm not sure…" the tiger raised an eyebrow. This lion, this lion who had changed their lives, this lion who confidentially turned a Circus around from bad luck to its former glory, this lion who was the first to steal Gia's heart and be accepted by him in a way, was not sure if he was in love? Vitaly shook his head; honestly, he could see the love in their eyes. He was not blind as most were, and he pitied Alex. He had known love before, so he knew how it felt.

Even if he didn't like the fact that it would be Alex Gia was joined to.

"Do you love little sister?" Alex blinked. What a question!

"Of course! Why do you-"

"Then question is solved. No need to ask 'vy', just know that you love her" Alex and Marty merely stared at the tiger. Vitaly had the urge to raise a brow. "Vat?"

Alex looked at Marty and the stallion did likewise. Never, in a million years kind of never, would they expect _VITALY_ of _ALL_ people- er, _animals_, to be giving Alex advice on marriage with Gia. Most would expect the tiger to be running with one of his knives and Alex running away from him while guarding his hair and his fur. All the while, Alex, thought.

Yes, why wasn't he so sure? He _did_ love Gia and he _did_ say she would be the only cat he would spend the rest of his life with in his dream. And he would never think of doing anything to hurt her or to make her sad and he would make her happy despite everything going on. Vitaly was right, all that mattered is how much he loved her and how much she loved him. Well, there was one way to find out!

Alex formed a smile on his muzzle and looked confidently in Vitaly's eyes. Blue to Green.

"First rule of all joinings, matings and marriages- the blessing of a family member. You must allow yourself to be critiqued and show all you can give to your receiving partner's family. No matter how young or old, you must always allow yourself to subject to their decisions, no matter how harsh, in order to give the best fortune to yourself and your future partner" Vitaly raised en eyebrow at the lion. Was he going crazy right in front of him?

"Vitaly, this is the first rule of my Pride's lore for marrying someone. You are one of Gia's closest friends. You may not be related to her but the law doesn't say that someone _does _have to be related to her by blood. It all matters if she thinks of them as family. Will you allow me to court Gia?" the tiger stood before the lion, speechless. Vitaly eyed the lion quizzically. Okay, yeah, he did not expect the lion to suddenly throw rules at him, and though it was thoughtful of him to do there was no need for it.

But, he sighed, if he thought this was best then so be it. Besides, Vitaly thought with a smile, it would be funny to see Gia commanding Alex around like Natalia used to do to him after they were married. He found it funny, even though it no longer hurt to think of it a bit. Huh. Not even a sting. Smiling he nodded.

"You have my permission to court her, you will be good husband to Gia" Alex grinned and was about to shake the Tiger's hand until the red feline held a paw up, "But, if you ever hurt little _sestra_, or make her cry" he took out a knife for emphasis. "Let us just say that I am not so kind the second time, Gia will not be there to save your hide". Instead of the scared or gulping fool he would find himself facing, Vitaly saw Alex merely grinning and laughing.

Yeah, he _did_ lose his mind, alright.

"I would not have it any other way 'Taly!" the lion cheered before running off towards the Trapeze, if Gia was anywhere, she would be there. And so, his new mission starts: To marry Gia. Marty, being the witness to this shake of hands and agreement knew it was his duty to back up Alex if Gia did not believe him, like that would happen. Then a thought occurred to the Stallion but he quickly kicked the idea out of his mind, too soon, he thought, Vitaly, however, merely smirked to himself.

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**Oh my gosh you guys, I feel like laughing evily! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA! And I hope you guys love this Chapter, been reading a few fics and in one there was certain steps to propose and I got inspired and wrote the planning for this fic long ago, writing the first part is what had gotten me stumped. So after a while I just started to rewrite out of boredom and it was better and I kept on writing and writing and _viola_! Tis here! **

**R&R you guys! And make sure you stay for more MAD Craziness! What shall happen next!? What is the next step on Alex's proposal!? And Melman's diamond ring? What shall happen!? And what of Vitaly? Does his need to see his love again tempt him to cross the borders!? O_O Wait and find out! :D**


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